African American Officials in the NCAA Tourney

[Adam]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

I did not say we should do anything. We are not in the position to do anything.

True.

Originally Posted by JRutledge

Wow, writing a letter is an "aggressive action." I hate to find out if someone actually talked to John directly.

Good grief, Jeff. Writing a letter is neither agressive nor what I was talking about.

Originally Posted by JRutledge

Not necessarily. Then again none of us know the basis for people even raising the issue.

Agreed That's what we're asking. Is it an issue? How do we know?

Originally Posted by JRutledge

Why is it not fair?

First of all the general population argument is silly. For one if the product on the court dominates the game, you are saying that those that come from similar background should not be given a chance.

Show me where I said that?

I think it's obvious that top level players are dominated by African Americans. Basketball officials, though, do not come solely from the top level of former players. Top level basketball officials often were no more than average high school players. The racial breakdown of average high school players is far less skewed towards African Americans than the rest of the population.

Originally Posted by JRutledge

And Larry Rose is in a conference that I am sure that many white officials do not frequently attend his camp based on who the schools are. I am sure guys like Larry are seeing officials from all over the country or region that are just as good as others and likely is not seeing some level of fairness. Now he would know that much more than I would. I am not a supervisor of a D1 conference. And Larry Rose has been there and done that as an official.

I confess that before this, I didn't know who Larry Rose was. I'm not saying it's not an issue. I'm only saying that if we're going to discuss this (which is what people here are asking for), one of the questions is, "How do we know it's an issue?"

"Larry Rose says it is" isn't going to be enough for a lot of us.