African American Officials in the NCAA Tourney

[walter]

Originally Posted by JRutledge

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



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




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



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.

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.

Peace

Rut: I have been to his camp. The numbers were pretty equal as far as race is concerned (at least the year I went). I heard Larry say if you can ref, (paraphrasing here) demographics don't matter. He told everyone there he wants the best officials on the floor. I am white and a friend of mine got me into the camp. While I support your right to your opinion (I often agree with you), I do not believe that the predominent race of the players should determine the make-up of the crew at any level. If that is not what you are "saying", I apologize. I believe, like I believe you do, the best officials should be on the floor regardless of race, creed, etc. I am a realist. Racism still exists and anyone who thinks it doesn't isn;t living in the real world. However, gender, creed, sexual orientation, insert your own "ism" here, still exist as well. That being said, choosing a crew simply based upon race is wrong just as excluding an official based on race is wrong as well.