So Long Dean Edwards Smith, Rest In Peace ...

[Raymond]

Originally Posted by Nevadaref

Nope, I'm sick of this country revering athletes and coaches. Many of whom turn out to be other than the image they projected.
Glad they tore down the statue of Joe Paterno. The same should be done with several others.

Stories like this have nothing to do with why Dean Smith is loved by his former players:

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-bask...on-integration

In 1966, Scott became North Carolina's first African-American scholarship player and one of the first black athletes to sign at a major school south of the Mason-Dixon line.

Smith's father, Alfred, had integrated his Kansas high school team in the 1930s, and the Tar Heels coach was only following his old man's lead when he walked into a segregated Chapel Hill restaurant in the company of a black pastor and black student in the late 1950s to ensure they received service. Smith spoke up on behalf of black friends trying to cope with real estate agents who were steering them away from white neighborhoods, and four years before he signed Scott -- and right after he took the North Carolina job -- Smith tried to make Lou Hudson the first black player in the ACC. (Hudson reportedly didn't meet the school's academic requirements and enrolled at Minnesota.)

[BktBallRef]

Originally Posted by BadNewsRef

Stories like this have nothing to do with why Dean Smith is loved by his former players:

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-bask...on-integration

In 1966, Scott became North Carolina's first African-American scholarship player and one of the first black athletes to sign at a major school south of the Mason-Dixon line.

Smith's father, Alfred, had integrated his Kansas high school team in the 1930s, and the Tar Heels coach was only following his old man's lead when he walked into a segregated Chapel Hill restaurant in the company of a black pastor and black student in the late 1950s to ensure they received service. Smith spoke up on behalf of black friends trying to cope with real estate agents who were steering them away from white neighborhoods, and four years before he signed Scott -- and right after he took the North Carolina job -- Smith tried to make Lou Hudson the first black player in the ACC. (Hudson reportedly didn't meet the school's academic requirements and enrolled at Minnesota.)

Another story from his life...

Dean Smith stood before the Governor of the State of NC and argued against the death penalty. He pointed the Governor and each of his cabinet members and said, "You're a murderer, you're a murderer, you're a murder..." and lastly he said, "...and I'm a murderer." Whether you're for or against capital punishment, I would think most would admire a man who would take such a stand, who would make such a statement.

[BillyMac]

Originally Posted by BktBallRef

Another story from his life...

Smith's church served as a base for his advocacy. He joined the Baptist congregation soon after arriving in Chapel Hill, helping build it from a 60-person gathering on campus to a full church with 600 parishioners. It was booted from the Southern Baptist Convention and the North Carolina Baptist State Convention in 1992 for licensing a gay man to minister.

"He was willing to take controversial stands on a number of things as a member of our church — being against the death penalty, affirming gays and lesbians, protesting nuclear proliferation," said Robert Seymour, the former pastor at Binkley Baptist Church. "He was one who has been willing to speak out on issues that many might hesitate to take a stand on."

[Adam]

Originally Posted by BktBallRef

Another story from his life...

Dean Smith stood before the Governor of the State of NC and argued against the death penalty. He pointed the Governor and each of his cabinet members and said, "You're a murderer, you're a murderer, you're a murder..." and lastly he said, "...and I'm a murderer." Whether you're for or against capital punishment, I would think most would admire a man who would take such a stand, who would make such a statement.

But by all means let's lump him into a discussion of the worst scandal in the history of college sports. Good !^€×!#@ grief.

[BktBallRef]

Originally Posted by Adam

But by all means let's lump him into a discussion of the worst scandal in the history of college sports. Good !^€×!#@ grief.

Well, what are you gonna do, Adam? Some people just have no couth whatsoever. 😕