African American Officials in the NCAA Tourney

[JRutledge]

Originally Posted by Snaqwells

I think letters are generally okay. My impression is that more is being asked for. If the letter is to serve no other purpose than to make Adams aware of the perception others are getting, then great.

By aggressive action, I’m speaking specifically of calls to essentially have quotas where the race of the officials is largely predetermined.

Can you show the quote where anyone suggested a quota from the point of view that suggested there was a problem? I do not even think the OP even talked about a number. That number or suggestion of numbers were raised by those jumping to conclusions about the motives were absurd or unfounded.

Originally Posted by Snaqwells

I haven’t seen anyone suggest any official shouldn’t be given a chance. Maybe I missed it.

I would suggest that a lot of officials do not deserve a shot. But that is me.

Originally Posted by Snaqwells

I'm not defending anything. I'm asking questions. If we're going to have an honest discussion about race issues, it's going to have to start with a bunch of questions.

I'll admit Rose's opinion carries some weight due to his position.

Do a little research on Rose. He is a currently the assignor of a conference that has all Historically Black Colleges. He was a multiple time Final Four official that worked in conferences like the ACC and SEC. He told a great story once at a camp I attended where he ripped Billy Packer to his face (got a huge laugh). Larry Rose knows much more about this than most of us. I am sure he has officials come to his camp that are likely not being hired in other lower level conferences (rightly or wrongly, that is just the nature of mid-major camps). I am sure that Rose or anyone in his situation draws conclusions based on knowing the people involved and the system. I do not know if the claim is right, I just trust a person in his position much more than what I think. I have not done a study on the issue or know what goes on in other parts of the country. I have enough time trying to figure out who gets hired at lower level in the Midwest, not all over the country. And my opinion on these issues is really not a big factor. I do know that when I go to camps, it is amazing the amount of African-American officials I run into and their talent. Some are working at the D1 level, many are not. I have no idea why or who deserves outside of my amateur opinion.

Peace