Friday, March 29, 2024

Sports talk with Spider: Level playing field

By Don “Spider” Willis

On Aug. 28 in Washington, D.C., some 400,000 Americans will convene on the National Mall and witness a historic day in American history. On that day, the dedication of the Rev. Martin Luther King monument will be celebrated. The MLK Memorial Monument will stand along the National Mall walkway of past presidents and forefathers of our esteemed country.

A 15-year process and with a $120 million price tag will bring 25 years of determination and legislation closer to the mountain top spoken of by King. He fought for equality for all people and in sports he enlisted the commitment from professional athletes such as Jim Brown, Bobby Mitchell, Bill Russell and others to breakdown social and economic barriers hindering African Americans for so long.

Today’s sports resume for African-Americans born more than 40 years after the death of King in 1968 include the Williams Sisters, LeBron James, Michael Vick and Tiger Woods. These athletes may not have a clue of the struggles that were endured. They are the generation who benefited from King’s vision of equality and prosperity for all in the world of sports.

John Harris, columnist for the Pittsburgh Tribune Review said, “the “leveling of the playing field is better than before thanks to Dr. King.”

These must be the same guys who saw on a playing field where Jerry Levias, a black quarterback from Beaumont, was denied the opportunity to play at Southern Methodist University in 1966 because the Southwestern Conference did not allow blacks or want blacks to play, even though he was an Academic-All American from 1966-68.

And they likely saw the report where there are still only six African-American head coaches walking the sidelines each Saturday afternoon during college football season. The sidelines on Sunday have seen some change. In the NFL, six of the 32 current head coaches are African American. One coach is Hispanic.

That same playing field remains filled with potholes, cracks and rocks in it if you look at it from the NCAA prospective, which includes no minority commissioner for any of conferences.
 
The NCAA is one of the largest corporations in America with TV contracts worth over $1 billion as well as, licensing agreements and luxurious stadiums. The college athletes are typecast as hustlers or thugs at institutions where the football programs pay for 75 percent of the education and academic curriculum.

These university presidents keep hiring coaches that look like them, talk like them and have one eye closed when it comes to hiring a minority head coaches or athletic directors. Maybe some of these university presidents should attend the dedications ceremonies over the weekend and interview some 400,000 candidates who will be in attendance. I am sure they can find several African-Americans candidates ready to work.

The NCAA really needs to come into the 21st century and put in action the hiring of minority coaches and athletic directors who are capable of bringing winning programs to universities. The playing field will become level when the new generation of men and women become good groundskeepers for humanity.
 
You can listen to Donald ’Spider’ Willis each Sunday from 7 to 9 p.m. on the Fishbowl Radio Network.com. For topics or opinions you can call 469-335-6668 or email dwillisdw@yahoo.com.

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