Barkley Apologizes To Gene Chizik, Clears The Air On His Auburn Comments

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Charles Barkley has said and done a lot of controversial things in his days, but his latest comments might bring about the most change. Contrary to popular belief, I don't agree with everything Barkley says, but on this issue I don't see how you can't. Barkley stirred the pot recently and he went on the Dan Patrick Show to apologize to new Auburn Head Coach, Gene Chizik, and to reiterate the need to hire Black Coaches....



Look....it's OBVIOUS that College Football programs aren't hiring Black Coaches. It's even more OBVIOUS that Turner Gill needs to be picked up somewhere and soon, but until either someone at a large University makes a stand or players boycott places like Auburn, nothing is going to change. And that's pretty depressing if you ask me. Your grand total of Black Coaches in Division 1-A is four....four people out of one hundred and twenty. Unbelievable.

Oh and be sure to listen to the rest of the interview, and especially the part when Barkley explains how he was kicked off the Auburn Basketball coach search committee. Hilarious story.

Barkley upset at colleges' racial bias (Dan Patrick Show)

Posted by Awful Announcing at 12:22 PM

44 Comments:

DOWN WITH NIGGERS!

Anonymous said...
Dec 17, 2008, 12:49:00 PM  

So how many are acceptable? Since blacks make up about 12-14% of the population will we stop hearing about this if 15 black coaches are hired? If more than 15 black coaches get hired can white people complain because were fairly represented? Why is it obvious Turner Gill needs to get picked up somewhere else? Maybe he likes it in Buffalo. As a Nebraska fan, maybe hes waiting for Bo Pelini to leave. He just signed a new contract and is currently a coach so Im not sure how not being at hired at Auburn brings this fucking story up again. How many asians are coaching? How many women? Turner is a good coach and if Auburn doesnt want to hire him and instead wnats to go with a worthless white former ISU coach let them. Maybe they will hire him in three years when they do this all again.

Anonymous said...
Dec 17, 2008, 1:10:00 PM  

I get the feeling that the first anon is the Auburn AD.

GMoney said...
Dec 17, 2008, 1:32:00 PM  

If Turner Gill is "picked up somewhere and soon" the number of black head coaches will remain at 4. Unless he's "picked up" by the Buffalo Bills.

Scott said...
Dec 17, 2008, 1:37:00 PM  

In I-AA, (ya know where they have a playoff and do it the right way), Richmond's Mike London has done a remarkable job in getting the Spiders to the national title game. However, no one talks about him. Division I football sucks hardcore until a playoff is established.

Brad James said...
Dec 17, 2008, 1:38:00 PM  

i hope the 12:49 comment is deleted.

Anonymous said...
Dec 17, 2008, 1:42:00 PM  

and what about Charlie Strong at Florida? I remember when he was at South Carolina years ago he was rumored to be in the running for several positions but nothing really fel thru. He then goes to a national power, continues building a great defense and it seems is never really mentioned for any coaching vacancies.

Anonymous said...
Dec 17, 2008, 1:45:00 PM  

So, who are some good African American coaches besides Turner Gill.

Yes, Auburn screwed up badly with a possible bad hire, but they interviewed Gill. He wasn't the right "fit" with no SEC recruiting ties.

What if Chizik does well as Auburn HC?

This whole race card issue is outmoded. Hiring someone solely because of the color of his/her skin would not be a step forward, but one backwards.

Matt said...
Dec 17, 2008, 1:46:00 PM  

Since blacks make up about 40-50% of the student-athlete population playing college football...

Fixed (that percentage is just a conservative estimate; it might be higher).

Why is it obvious Turner Gill needs to get picked up somewhere else?

Back-to-back 5-7 years will turn any hot coaching commodity into an also-ran....unless you're Gene Chizik.

Dec 17, 2008, 1:56:00 PM  

Anon 12:49 is talking about his mom.

Anonymous said...
Dec 17, 2008, 2:12:00 PM  

I have never seen a bigger fuss made over a coach with a career record of 15-22. Turner Gill has turned things around in Buffalo, but he was 7-17 his first two years. I guess Barkley was in the interview room because he obviously knows that race was the #1 reason Gill was not hired.

I don't know how Chizik will do at Auburn, and anyone who claims they do know is full of it. He might flame out, he might do well, but to base your entire opinion on his record at ISU without looking at his entire resume is ridiculous. What happens if Gill goes 7-17 again the next two seasons? Will there still be an outcry? College hiring practices deserve scrutiny, but for a clown like Barkley to throw the race card out makes him look even more stupid than he already has.

It is the easy way out for some people to play the card rather than take all factors into consideration, factors like Chizik's success as a DC on an undefeated Auburn team, or his strong ties in the southeast. Chizik does not look like the best hire in the world, and he might not be, but enough with the race card being played non-stop. Barkley should stick to wasting his money gambling and beating up his fellow citizens because I would not be jumping for joy if my school hired someone with a 15-22 career record like Gill has.

Anonymous said...
Dec 17, 2008, 3:15:00 PM  

There are over 37 million African Americans in the United States, and you're outraged because a few dozen of them haven't been hired for highly specialized managerial jobs at elite universities? Way to keep things in perspective, eh?

Anonymous said...
Dec 17, 2008, 3:25:00 PM  

maybe Iowa State should hire Gill? that could be a nice bookend to the whole tragic story of Jack Trice.

Anonymous said...
Dec 17, 2008, 3:26:00 PM  

Brad James, we don't care about your thoughts on a playoff. That has nothing to do with this post (or any of the other posts that you've said that in).

GMoney said...
Dec 17, 2008, 4:16:00 PM  

Stay classy, Anon 12:49 PM.

BTW, Chuck went on PTI and blasted the C.O.W. Boys Network as Bill Conlin called it: The Current Old White Boys Network.

JamesCraven said...
Dec 17, 2008, 5:49:00 PM  

The only reason that this is a story is because Auburn is in Alabama. I am sure other schools have and will not hire Turner Gill but none of those will face the criticism that Auburn has. At least Auburn did interview Turner and with good intentions. How many other interviews will Turner get? Will every school that chooses a white coach racist? Or just the southern states? If Auburn thought this guy was the magic bullet to get their program back on track, they would have hired Turner.

Anonymous said...
Dec 17, 2008, 7:52:00 PM  

Syracuse didn't hire him. Racists, no question about it.

We all know your very "special" views on race by now. No need to pound them into our heads if we don't want to read them any further, AA.

And now I return to my quest to get more white people in the filthy den of black supremacists that is the National Basketball Assocation. Which you have never once stated support for. :(

Anonymous said...
Dec 17, 2008, 8:24:00 PM  

How to fix the problem:

1) Pay graduate assistants more. It's hard to be a GA, black or white, if you don't have the option of making barely above the poverty level.

2) Increase graduation rates at football factory schools in D-IA. One thing everyone forgets is that head coaches at all levels of college must have a college degree. This makes the bad graduation rates for revenue sports at major universities even worse.

3) After developing those ranks of GAs and more coordinators, put a Rooney Rule for the NCAA in place. You lose X number of scholarships if you don't interview a minority candidate. (It would be unreasonable to establish this immediately, given the multiple divisions and the thin ranks of minority coaches.)

The non-hiring of Turner Gill wouldn't be an issue if Alabama hadn't hired someone who went 5-19, and 0-8 in conference play last year without facing one of the Big XII's big three in Texas, Oklahoma, and Texas Tech.

Gene Chizik is a completely underwhelming choice. Mike Leach was a candidate at Auburn as well. No one would have made a major complaint about Gill if they'd money-whipped Leach out of Lubbock (and it could have been done.) Chizik jumped ship at Auburn after the undefeated season in 2004, talked shit about the university on the way out to Austin, and they still took him back. That's an athletic department in disarray.

Maybe it's better that Gill didn't wind up there.

Signal to Noise said...
Dec 17, 2008, 9:25:00 PM  

Just for the record, Karl "Token" Dorrell was a very bad hire...talk about ruining it for everybody else...

As long as he keeps on keeping on, Turner Gill will be a deserved hire for some BCS program (e.g. Virginia, Indiana, Colorado, Arizona State, UCLA, Louisville)...

Also, was anyone aware that Dennis Green received the head job at Stanford with a head-coaching resume that included multiple winless seasons at Northwestern?

Anonymous said...
Dec 17, 2008, 11:07:00 PM  

And you know who you thought he was! So crown his ass, Anon 11:07 PM.

JamesCraven said...
Dec 17, 2008, 11:23:00 PM  

you guys are wayy too sensitive about this..charles brings up good points.

Anonymous said...
Dec 18, 2008, 12:28:00 AM  

Who thinks Turner Gill is a good head coach?
Syracuse, Auburn, San Diego St., New Mexico, etc. passed him over.
Turner Gill has a LOSING record and only one BIG win.
Buffalo needed OT to beat Army AT HOME this season.
UB LOST 3 home games this season.
Yeah, he's black and mediocre so he jumps to the top of the list.
Quit focusing on color and look at results!!

Anonymous said...
Dec 18, 2008, 12:38:00 AM  

You should be ashamed of yourself for saying athletes should boycott Auburn. They should also boycott Syracuse. They should also boycott Tennessee for not even interviewing a minority (Auburn interviewed two minority candidates). They should boycott Alabama for not hiring Croom a few years ago. It would have been cool if Auburn hired Gill but you CAN'T blame race and start talking boycott- that's hurtful to their fanbase, their student body and student athletes. That is an unfair statement.

Let's look at the facts first, Mr race-card player guy...

Chizik - From South East, Has recruiting contacts all over the South East, SEC Ties,Extremely successful Defensive Coordinator at Texas and Auburn (yes-ever think that going undefeated and winning a Broyles award while at Auburn could have possibly helped their decision?) He's basically Will Muschamp (their first choice) with 2 bad HC seasons at a crappy ISU school.

Gill - Excellent candidate BUT...not from South East so less recruiting contacts, no SEC ties, never affiliated with Auburn in any way (other than beating the crap out of Auburn with Nebraska in 82), also has a career losing record like Chizik but at a worse school in terms of football. Is ISU really a juggernaut though?

It's not as clear cut as you seem to make it sound. Back off the boycott talk buddy. Oh.... I love Barkley but ever think Auburn kept him off the search committee due to his personality and not because of race - this is Charles we're talking about. A white dude that's as nutty as Charles would have been kept off the committee also.

Anonymous said...
Dec 18, 2008, 12:38:00 AM  

Right on Anon 12:38.
It's like annointing Vincy Young the next Doug Williams -- whoops!
COO-COO!!!! If a black coach is good, they'll get rewarded. Don't try to take the 'easy way' out and just promote them for nothing.

Anonymous said...
Dec 18, 2008, 12:41:00 AM  

I think that the reason why Turner Gill was a great canidate even though he has a losing record as many of you have pointed out is because he took the worst D-I team that had maybe 10 wins in the previous nearly decade and turned them around to have a winning record in just 3 seasons. Another point is that he did this all while not having great recruits, but rather it was done with great coaching and player development. I don't know if race was a factor in the Auburn hire....but the SEC has an unprecedented history of passing over quality minority candidates....

Anonymous said...
Dec 18, 2008, 1:45:00 AM  

how is it obvious college football programs aren't hiring head coaches? do you have any REAL evidence of this? if you want to boycott auburn for not hiring a black coach then why not boycott the other schools that have white coaches? people who write about sports think they're so morally superior to people in sports. get off your high horse.

Corey said...
Dec 18, 2008, 3:42:00 AM  

SO I GUESS THE NIGGER COMMENT IS OK. IVE SEEN LESS RACIAL COMMENTS BEFORE GET MODERATED. WHAT A FUCKING BULLSHIT BUNCH OF STANK WHITE MOTHERFUCKERS

Anonymous said...
Dec 18, 2008, 8:11:00 AM  

barkley is right. but who cares? fuck white people. they all suck black peoples dicks anyway.

Anonymous said...
Dec 18, 2008, 8:12:00 AM  

Give a honkey an inch, and he'll want a yard. Give him a yard, and he'll burn a cross in it every time.

Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin

Scott said...
Dec 18, 2008, 8:18:00 AM  

Two Schools interviewed Turner Gill and neither hired him. Yet, it is Auburn that committed the sin...go figure.

Turner Gill will get a better opportunity next year if he is as good as he appears to be. After all, do you really want to follow Tuberville at Auburn? The place is irrational when it comes to football...but not as bad as "Bama".

The focus should be on hiring black assistant coaches. Once the stable of highly qualified black assistants is full, the head coach postions will follow. Everyone ignores race when it comes to picking a winner. So, stack the deck.

Unknown said...
Dec 18, 2008, 10:18:00 AM  

THE MOTHAFUCKER LOST 10 STRAIGHT GAMES. HOW DID KIFFIN GET A JOB? THATS BULLSHIT. WHITE PEOPLE ARE BULLSHIT. GILL IS MARRIED TO THAT BLACK BITCH. WHITE BOOSTERS DONT WANT ANY BLACKS. FUCK HONKEYS.

madnice said...
Dec 18, 2008, 11:19:00 AM  

It's so obvious Gill needs to be picked up? Really? 0-9 against the BCS including Baylor and Syracuse. Lost to three win Kent at home right before the MAC championship. If they had lost to Ball State, there goes your bowl game because of the Kent game.

Anonymous said...
Dec 18, 2008, 11:34:00 AM  

As long as we're talking about equality, let's count how many non-black running backs we have in college football. In any football for that matter. Oh, wait, some will say that's different because you want the best athletes playing. I guarantee, to all of you, there are quick, fast, and strong running backs that NEVER get the opportunity to play major college/pro football simply because of the color of their skin.
If you have two exactly matched athletes, guess which one gets the full ride and guess which one plays JUCO ball. The truth hurts.

Anonymous said...
Dec 18, 2008, 12:04:00 PM  

Some of the comments here (COREY) confirm something I learned in college. I played college football. About 40 percent of our team was black. Most of the black guys I played with were great people. I learned a lot from them. But there were a handful of them that were the most racist people I've ever seen in my life.
Now, I grew up in the midwest. I've seen white people be racist. But these few guys were the most extreme I've ever seen. We played on the same team for 4-5 years and I had not one conversation with them. They would not talk/associate with me (or any other whites) because of the color of my skin. Because I was WHITE! The funny thing is that I was faster than all of them. Maybe that's why they didn't like me.

Anonymous said...
Dec 18, 2008, 12:17:00 PM  

Last time I checked Turner Gill IS a college football head coach. That means you can't put him in the "unable to get a head coaching job because he's black" category.
Or did I miss a meeting?

Anonymous said...
Dec 18, 2008, 12:25:00 PM  

Anon @ 12:25...Barkley's point was (at least what he said on PTI yesterday) was that the jobs that African-Americans do get are the crap jobs or places where it is impossible to build a program that can compete for nat'l championships every year (Ty Willingham at ND being the lone exception)

Anonymous said...
Dec 18, 2008, 12:54:00 PM  

anonymous who is WHITE.....BLACK PEOPLE CANT BE RACIST. THEY DONT HAVE THE POWER. HAVE YOU EVER BEEN CALLED NIGGER OR WHIGGER OR SOME RACIAL SLUR? NO BECAUSE YOU ARE WHITE.

Anonymous said...
Dec 18, 2008, 1:46:00 PM  

Turner Gill was interviewed at Auburn and HE said he was treated fairly and it was not a good fit for HIM!
Why complain.
Barkley is the racist in this story - believe me, he plays the race card about EVERYTHING!
War Eagle (in spite of Barkley, Chizik, Jacobs, Lowder, et al)

Anonymous said...
Dec 18, 2008, 2:28:00 PM  

Again, Karl Dorrell was an obvious affirmative action hire at a flagship institution of the UC system, and his predictable tenure has undoubtedly done irreparable harm to the Turner Gills of the world...

That being said, Turner Gill is not Karl Dorrell, and Brady Hoke didn't get the Auburn job either...his relatively similar credentials landed him the job at San Diego State, which hasn't exactly been a springboard for anyone since Don Coryell...

Also, Tyrone Willingham lost his job at Notre Dame because of Urban Meyer, and for no other reason...

It needs to be said that the Pac-10 officially jumped the shark with the hires of Dorrell at UCLA and Willingham at Washington (hello Craig Robinson!), and no, that statement does not excuse the hiring of Harbaugh (or Buddy Teevens, for that matter) at Stanford...

Anonymous said...
Dec 18, 2008, 9:13:00 PM  

Anon @ 12:54: Ya, I've heard that Jessie Jackson argument too about how black people can't be racist because they lack the power. You talk about self-defeating! Just because you may think you have no power is no excuse for judging anyone by their color of skin. Show some responsibility (which is notoriously absent when you buy into something like 'I can't be racist because I have no power’) and judge others by their character.
Are you saying that it's O.K. to teach your children that whitey is the devil? I've been called a honkey, a cracker, and the devil. Are you saying those words are not racist? I certainly was not called that because I'm black.
You don't need power to be racist. Racism lives in the mind and surfaces through words and actions. It is learned. I saw people making judgments about me simply because of the color of my skin. It doesn't matter if I'm black, white, green, yellow...racism is racism.
As I stated before, these were only a few of the black guys I played with. Most were great people. There were white guys on the team that I did not get along with, because they were almost as racist as some of the black guys. It does go both ways.
FYI - turn off your caps. Yelling gets you nowhere.

Anonymous said...
Dec 18, 2008, 11:55:00 PM  

LAST ANON.....I DONT CARE ABOUT INTERNET ETIQUETTE. SO dont worry ABOUT THE CAPS. HAVE YOU EVER BEEN CALLED A RACIAL SLUR OR NOT BEEN ABLE TO VOTE OR BE IN A COUNTRY CLUB? RACISM ISNT OVER BECAUSE OBAMA IS HERE. I THINK JESSE IS A CLOWN BUT HE IS CORRECT. YOU CANT BE RACIST WITHOUT POWER. ARE WHITE PEOPLE OFFENDED WHEN THEY HEAR CRACKER OR HONKEY? WHO THE FUCK USES HONKEY ANYWAY? BLACK GUYS NEED TO FUCK ALL THE WHITE WOMAN NUT IN THEM AND LEAVE THEM. GO GUILIANI IN 4 YEARS

Anonymous said...
Dec 19, 2008, 12:11:00 PM  

When did I ever say racism is gone? When did I ever say the Obama situation means that everything is equal?
As I stated earlier, yes, I have been called a racial slur.
Have you ever not been able to vote, or join a country club? If so then that's wrong. Speaking of racially exclusive clubs, could I join the NAACP? I don't believe I've seen a white person win a BET entertainment award. Every other race has a time when they officially come together and pay tribute to their kind. I don't have a problem with that. But could you believe the uproar if there was awards for white people only? Everyone should be proud of their heritage, but I get tagged as a racist if I say I'm proud to be white.
My point isn't that racism is gone. My point is that every race practices racism. If you believe that all Asians can't drive, or that all Muslim's are terrorists, or that all white people are the devil, ect., ect., ect., then you are a racist .
And your comment about white women, well, you should be physically harmed for saying that.
Punk little bitch.

Anonymous said...
Dec 19, 2008, 1:20:00 PM  

anon.....why should that anonymous be banned? why are you taking it so personally? its just an internet opinion. black guys should nut in all the white women and leave them. niggas forever. lololllol

Anonymous said...
Dec 22, 2008, 12:00:00 PM  

I like some Dana Jacobson. I like that big ass and hips and those big arms.

Anonymous said...
Dec 23, 2008, 1:46:00 PM  

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