Forget them! Where are the short refs at? I want to see refs that are 5'6" and shorter!

-Josh

No, you just cannot have this discussion here. Serious conversations that deal with this issue are not accepted. I should have put the over-under when someone was going to reference Martin Luther King Jr.

Peace

I know someone who sent Mr. Adams an email on this subject. It was not sent anonymously. And Mr. Adams responded right away. My friend was satisfied by Mr. Adams response.

While I know John Adams a little (very little in fact), it strikes me that he IS interested in "grooming" younger/newer/other (how ever you want to phase it) officials. Evidence of that is the lack of some long-time, big name officials in this years' tournament (see the previous thread about the "Notable Abscences"). John does not sugar-coat things...if you can work, he'll use you.

Mark your calendar, it won't happen often.

Yep.

Peace

Okay, I'll jump in here.

What are you suggesting?
1. Adams is a racist?
2. We should have a quota system to ensure the percentage of AA officials equals the percentage of AA players?

You can't compare the percentage of officials to the percentage of players, apples and oranges. The percentage of AA players is skewed in comparison to those who officiate.

Compare the percentage of AA officials in the tourney to the percentage of AA officials eligible.

Compare the percentage of AA offiicals in your local area to the percentage of AA citizens in the population.

Sure they are....but this one is simply ridiculous. The real numbers, based on the whole population, not just a carefully selected slice that skew the appearance, just don't support the premise this thread suggests.

It would not surprise me if Mr. Adams formally addressed this issue via a memo or bulletin. He does not strike me as someone to shy away from any issue.

That always tends to be a very easy statement to make when coming from beneficiaries who reap benefits/perks as a birth right, while others have to fight for them.

Most people don’t understand things unless it affects them directly. Walk with me…

Let’s say for instance that an Underworld Caucasian Group were selling other Caucasians to a “new found land” on Mars.
During their stay the use of the English language, common names & praying to God/Jesus was not tolerated. They were even taught to hate each other, blonde vs. brunette, blue eyes vs. green eyes, old vs. young, etc. The men were made an example of for all women & children to see. After hundreds of years of this treatment, all of a sudden they were free & able to live amongst their former master. During the course of trying to live the same type of lifestyle as their ex-masters, opportunities (work, school, homes, etc) just didn’t come that easy for them as they were still a hated people. When they spoke about unequal opportunities would often be the response.

Unless you or your family has experienced this scenario, you probably have no idea. Get it?

Even though the letter specifically addressed the Sweet Sixteen, we will still go with your numbers:

3 games
9 slots (1 Black per game)
1/3

Now where have I heard this 1/3 reasoning before? It wasn’t too fair back then either.

Oh that’s right, life ain’t fair (for some of us) get over it & do the best ya can.

...and just to throw a little bit of gas on the fire, I'll note that the entire thread up to this point only references African-Americans in the men's tournament, and doesn't deal with the issue as it relates to the women's side, where the number of African-Americans is about comparable.

Of course it is all because you say so. I think Larry Rose not only has the credibility (than anyone here) to make such a claim based on his background and his current job. Rose is involved with institutions that deal with African-Americans on a much more intimate level. I have relatives that are alumni of one of his schools and a cousin going to another from his conference. And considering that I was at the commencement of one of those schools in the spring of 2008, they probably do not feel the same way you do about the issue. These institutions feelings about equality are not like those here considering their students are mostly African-American. Now I am sure there is more to this topic than what was posted. But this is the very reason we cannot discuss these things here.

Peace

That's because the issue was taken up directly with Mr. Adams concerning the NCAA-M's tournament.

Just out of curiosity has there ever been any controversies concerning the number of men or women working the NCAA-W's tournament?

First off, David Libbey isn't black so he shouldn't be on the list.

Second, I have seen this in the west, east and south. If you think the black officials on TV are the only black officials good enough then you (in general terms) haven't seen enough officials. I also know of Asian and Hispanic officials who can flat out officiate.

It is ridiculous to think that officiating is somehow shielded from the rest of society and bias due to race doesn't occur. It is also ridiculous to bring up reverse discrimination or to even think or affirmative action. If something needs to be reversed or action taken we have a problem don't we?

I think the OP was saying he was going to post his letter to Mr. Adams without his name. I don't think he meant that he was sending it to Mr. Adams anonymously.