Diversity!

[ILikeBC]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/spo ... dd773f5910

The NCAA put out a diversity hiring pledge. Notre Dame and Boston College won’t sign.

Last September, the NCAA started circulating a “presidential pledge” intended to deal with a problem that continues to rankle college sports: diversity in hiring.

While racial diversity on the sidelines and front offices of professional sports leagues has improved in the past decade, the situation in college athletics, according to NCAA data, remains largely the same: Most of the athletes in the high-profile sports of football and basketball are black, but the overwhelming majority of coaches and administrators are white.

The NCAA’s 147-word “Pledge and Commitment to Promoting Diversity and Gender Equity in Intercollegiate Athletics” is voluntary, doesn’t include any requirements or punishments, and has been criticized as weak.

And yet, in a sign of the struggle the NCAA faces whenever it tries to effect change, nearly 30 percent of the NCAA’s 1,200 member schools have not signed the pledge in the seven months since the NCAA announced it. While in some cases this may have just been an oversight, presidents of two prominent universities — Notre Dame and Boston College — said they purposely declined.

Bernard Franklin, the NCAA’s chief inclusion officer, discussed the pledge — along with a long list of bleak statistics about the dearth of minorities employed in college sports — in a May 1 presentation to the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics at the National Press Club. Franklin’s presentation to the nonprofit that researches and discusses perceived problems in college athletics came during a panel discussion on hiring diversity.

In a bit of dramatic flair, Franklin quoted from the opening sentence of Charles Dickens’s “A Tale of Two Cities” to describe the disparity between diversity among athletes and among coaches and administrators. On the fields and courts, Franklin said, “it is the best of times,” but on the sidelines and administrative offices, “a winter of despair … and utter frustration.”

In Division I, Franklin told the Knight Commission, 82 percent of athletic directors are white, 85 percent of associate athletic directors are white, and 82 percent of assistant athletic directors are white. While blacks constitute a little more than half of FBS football players, and 75 percent of Division I men’s basketball players, about 11 percent of football coaches are minorities, Franklin said, and 25 percent of men’s basketball coaches.

While the NCAA pledge does not come with any enforcement mechanism, Franklin noted, there is an accountability measure: The NCAA published online a list of schools whose leaders signed, making it easy to determine who hasn’t.

Last week, the Washington Post contacted a dozen school presidents who hadn’t signed and asked why. Nine said it was an oversight. The leaders of Oklahoma State, Nebraska, Tulsa and other schools said they hadn’t seen the pledge and would sign immediately. Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr. said he had signed and there must have been some kind of glitch; within days, Liberty appeared on the NCAA’s list.

The presidents of Notre Dame and Boston College, however, said their decisions not to sign were purposeful, as their schools already have their own diversity initiatives.

Notre Dame President Father John Jenkins “feels strongly that principals of such importance should be authored and pronounced by Notre Dame itself and applied university-wide, and not as the product of an association focused exclusively on collegiate athletics,” university spokesman Paul Browne wrote in an email.

Boston College President Father William Leahy didn’t sign, in part, because the pledge wasn’t strong enough, according to university spokesman Jack Dunn, who pointed out the school just hired Martin Jarmond, who is black, as athletic director.

Leahy would support an NCAA mandate for athletic departments to interview at least one minority for any head coaching or senior leadership position, similar to the NFL’s “Rooney Rule,” Dunn said.

“A deep commitment to diverse campus communities already exists. The task is to act,” Dunn wrote. “Many colleges and universities have voiced the same concerns about the pledge. It strikes many of us as a feel-good measure that will not address the issue.”

While Notre Dame and Boston College have their own initiatives — like many colleges and universities — both still have heavily white athletic departments, a review of their staff directories shows. Of the 23 members of Notre Dame athletics administration, there is one black woman, one Asian-American man, and 21 white men and women. The head coaches have a similar makeup: 16 of 18 are white. At Boston College, all 23 sport head coaches are white.

To determine these figures, the Post reviewed head shots and emailed estimates to Notre Dame and Boston College. Boston College’s Dunn did not reply to requests to verify the Post’s figures.

Notre Dame’s Browne acknowledged the school’s athletic department is currently overwhelmingly white, but pointed out three black athletic directors previously worked in South Bend: Florida State’s Stan Wilcox, Stanford’s Bernard Muir, and Buffalo’s Allen Greene.

“The diversity of our current administrative team is not where we want it to be, and that’s being addressed soon,” Browne wrote. “While poaching’s an annoying fact of life, Notre Dame is proud of helping advance the careers of some prominent African-American athletics administrators who are now serving at other universities.”

At the Knight Commission meeting, former NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue said Dan Rooney, the longtime owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers who died earlier this year, encountered similar pushback from fellow owners when he proposed his minority hiring initiative in 2002.

In an NFL owners meeting, Tagliabue said, two of the league’s 32 owners balked at Rooney’s suggested rule. The two owners (whom Tagliabue did not identify) told Rooney they already made sure to interview at least one minority every time they had a head coach opening. When the discussion ended, Rooney told his fellow owners he was pleased they had unanimously approved his proposal.

“And the two people said, ‘Unanimous? I’m against it!’ … Dan said, ‘You said you’re already doing it … Great, you’re ahead of us, we’re catching up,’” Tagliabue said. “So the vote went down in history as a unanimous vote.”

A committee of college presidents studied this issue last year, and considered a stronger, Rooney Rule-type proposal, before opting for the voluntary pledge, according to Jay Lemons, president of Susquehanna University, one of those involved.

Even though the pledge is likely similar to diversity initiatives already in place at many schools, Lemons said, he struggled to understand why some of his peers would refuse to sign it.

“I do not see a downside,” Lemons said. “The need for change is so incredibly powerful that it’s hard for me to imagine that frankly any of our institutions have made all the progress that any of us would like to make.”

Richard Lapchick, president of the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport, expressed similar confusion with the explanations offered by Notre Dame and Boston College.

“They’re saying they’re going to go further than [the pledge], well, that doesn’t mean you wouldn’t join that public outcry that we need to change things,” Lapchick said.

Lapchick’s institute produces annual racial hiring report cards for sports organizations, including the NBA, the NFL, and college sports. The NBA perennially grades the best, and the NFL has improved since the days that inspired the Rooney Rule; the league earned an A for racial hiring this year.

College sports, according to Lapchick’s grading, has regressed slightly over the last decade. In 2006, college sports earned a B-minus for racial hiring. This year, college sports earned a C-plus.

Lapchick disputes the contention by some there is a smaller talent pool of minorities interested in college athletic jobs, and has proposed what he calls the “Eddie Robinson Rule,” which would essentially be a Rooney Rule for college sports named after the late longtime football coach at Grambling State.

Georgetown Athletic Director Lee Reed, who is black, said a voluntary pledge is as forcefully as he thinks the NCAA can act on hiring practices at individual schools. The NCAA’s difficulty in getting all schools to sign the pledge, Reed said, highlights the limits of the organization’s power.

“A lot of people like to blame the NCAA for the ills of college athletics … It’s a membership organization, and the membership is the schools,” Reed said. “This is up to us.”

[TobaccoRoadEagle]

mouthbreathers all over this country certainly won't use a misinterpretation of this decision for their own mouthbreathing arguments and agendas

[eepstein0]

mouthbreathers all over this country certainly won't use a misinterpretation of this decision for their own mouthbreathing arguments and agendas

Why are the people that run BC so dumb?

[twballgame9]

In fairness, the way that spin was laid down by WaPo, starting with the headline, was masterful.

[b0mberMan]

Cons: This is not a good PR look for BC

Pros: Bob Hohler probably feels very inadequate in what he does after reading this headline/article.

[TobaccoRoadEagle]

In fairness, the way that spin was laid down by WaPo, starting with the headline, was masterful.

exactly - mouthbreather feed. as you can see, middlebury bought it hook line and sinker. just imagine the handful of folks even dumber than that

[Corporal Funishment]

I've said it before and I've said it again, this is a flavor of protection scheme the mafia would be proud of:

Sign our pledge, and give us a bunch of money too to prove you "mean it"

If you don't, we'll trash your reputation in the media until you agree to buy a bunch of "diversity and sensitivity training" as damage control

By the way, we provide the diversity training. So we still get paid

And in the end, you still end up signing the pledge

[TobaccoRoadEagle]

Cons: This is not a good PR look for BC

Pros: Bob Hohler probably feels very inadequate in what he does after reading this headline/article.

pros - it may get more starter jacket wearing sully's into the seats

cons - it may get more starter jacket wearing sully's into the seats

[b0mberMan]

Pros: They gave BC space to respond and expand on their reasoning why they abstained in the article.

Cons: IB and his friends will adopt us as the one true "red pill" football program.

[Bumpers]

Bud? What're your thoughts on the matter?

[mod6A]

do the Sullys of the world still wear Starter jackets? hasn't Underarmour gear replaced the Starter jackets?

[TobaccoRoadEagle]

Bud? What're your thoughts on the matter?

ummm, i have some bad news for you about bud collins

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/05/spor ... at-86.html

[eepstein0]

In fairness, the way that spin was laid down by WaPo, starting with the headline, was masterful.

exactly - mouthbreather feed. as you can see, middlebury bought it hook line and sinker. just imagine the handful of folks even dumber than that

I don't care if they sign it or not. It's a terrible PR look for the school.

Probably not tons of mouth breathers at Middlebury last I checked USWNR...just saying

[hansen]

In fairness, the way that spin was laid down by WaPo, starting with the headline, was masterful.

exactly - mouthbreather feed. as you can see, middlebury bought it hook line and sinker. just imagine the handful of folks even dumber than that

I don't care if they sign it or not. It's a terrible PR look for the school.

Probably not tons of mouth breathers at Middlebury last I checked USWNR...just saying

It's in the separate category for small, insanely priced, elitist schools, correct?

[eepstein0]

In fairness, the way that spin was laid down by WaPo, starting with the headline, was masterful.

exactly - mouthbreather feed. as you can see, middlebury bought it hook line and sinker. just imagine the handful of folks even dumber than that

I don't care if they sign it or not. It's a terrible PR look for the school.

Probably not tons of mouth breathers at Middlebury last I checked USWNR...just saying

It's in the separate category for small, insanely priced, elitist schools, correct?

Correct.

Sign the deal, say it's a good first step but ultimately you'd like to see the Rooney Rule. End of story.

Saying you have a black AD doesn't help your cause either. It's like OJ saying he has black friends

[twballgame9]

In fairness, the way that spin was laid down by WaPo, starting with the headline, was masterful.

exactly - mouthbreather feed. as you can see, middlebury bought it hook line and sinker. just imagine the handful of folks even dumber than that

I don't care if they sign it or not. It's a terrible PR look for the school.

Probably not tons of mouth breathers at Middlebury last I checked USWNR...just saying

It's in the separate category for small, insanely priced, elitist schools, correct?

Correct.

Sign the deal, say it's a good first step but ultimately you'd like to see the Rooney Rule. End of story.

Saying you have a black AD doesn't help your cause either. It's like OJ saying he has black friends

Eh, WaPo spinning this as racist when BC just hired an African American AD, is irresponsible and frankly, intended to play to the last 8 people that read newspapers.

[Corporal Funishment]

In fairness, the way that spin was laid down by WaPo, starting with the headline, was masterful.

exactly - mouthbreather feed. as you can see, middlebury bought it hook line and sinker. just imagine the handful of folks even dumber than that

I don't care if they sign it or not. It's a terrible PR look for the school.

Probably not tons of mouth breathers at Middlebury last I checked USWNR...just saying

It's in the separate category for small, insanely priced, elitist schools, correct?

Correct.

Sign the deal, say it's a good first step but ultimately you'd like to see the Rooney Rule. End of story.

Saying you have a black AD doesn't help your cause either. It's like OJ saying he has black friends

Eh, WaPo spinning this as racist when BC just hired an African American AD, is irresponsible and frankly, intended to play to the last 8 people that read newspapers.

And ultimately every copy will be peed on by one of the remaining subscribers' many cats...as well it should be, of course

[hansen]

In fairness, the way that spin was laid down by WaPo, starting with the headline, was masterful.

exactly - mouthbreather feed. as you can see, middlebury bought it hook line and sinker. just imagine the handful of folks even dumber than that

I don't care if they sign it or not. It's a terrible PR look for the school.

Probably not tons of mouth breathers at Middlebury last I checked USWNR...just saying

It's in the separate category for small, insanely priced, elitist schools, correct?

Correct.

Sign the deal, say it's a good first step but ultimately you'd like to see the Rooney Rule. End of story.

Saying you have a black AD doesn't help your cause either. It's like OJ saying he has black friends

Eh, WaPo spinning this as racist when BC just hired an African American AD, is irresponsible and frankly, intended to play to the last 8 people that read newspapers.

I am in the intersection of people that read this site and the people that read the WaPo. Can't be many people in there with me.

[HJS]

As with every lefty, fake news piece vomited by that paper, the faux outrage it intends to incite from the easily-riled seeems to have accomplished its goal.

The article sets forth an inconvenient truth and then quickly dismisses it. For instance, the pledge was circulated in September and yet 30% of the schools have failed to sign it. 400 schools haven't complied in almost a year. Instead of discussing the low adoption rate, WaPo whitewashes 398 schools by fictionalizing that it is an oversight or because it simply isn't a priority. Meaning that what WaPo is about to get all butt-hurt about is a diversity pledge that swishy educators feel is a forgettable attempt by a broken organization.

The article then goes on to explain how 2 of the 400 didn't sign the pledge because it was feckless and didn't go far enough. Instead, of applauding such a stance, the author instead waxes poetic about the benefits of the diversity Participant ribbon. The main reason to sign? Preventing being shamed... which is what the NCAA's Chief Inclusion Officer (seriously with that fucking title) said is his stated weapon of choice. Enter WaPo. In what can assume is a hearty effort to make Trump's take on the media prescient, WaPo selectively flip-flops between talking coaches with BC and administrators for ND (to maximize shaming opportunity).

I hope that the quintessential millennial moment happens. Would love a WaPo blogger to point out that the author has Male Privilege bias. The pledge was specifically meant to be inclusionary... not just along race... but also along gender lines. The author completely dismisses women's lack of representation. Probably because the author does not believe a woman can successfully be in a leadership position in athletics.

Finally... the author... graduated BC in 2006. Fucking nerds.

[flyingelvii]

Bezos has actually made the Washington Post quite successful by focusing primarily on digital instead of traditional print. It got to the point it passed the NYT in digital views in 2015.

[DavidGordonsFoot]

Bill Leahy is weird and says weird shit a lot of the time.

[twballgame9]

Bezos has actually made the Washington Post quite successful by focusing primarily on digital instead of traditional print. It got to the point it passed the NYT in digital views in 2015.

Great. Skinniest Jenny Craig participant. Or smartest BC coach.

[TobaccoRoadEagle]

Bezos has actually made the Washington Post quite successful by focusing primarily on digital instead of traditional print. It got to the point it passed the NYT in digital views in 2015.

Great. Skinniest Jenny Craig participant. Or smartest BC coach.

or, in foot's case, chick with the hottest hard glistening weener

[flyingelvii]

Bezos has actually made the Washington Post quite successful by focusing primarily on digital instead of traditional print. It got to the point it passed the NYT in digital views in 2015.

Great. Skinniest Jenny Craig participant. Or smartest BC coach.

Well it is profitable and growing, which is a good thing for business. It's basically taking the Huff Post model and adding a paywall. It's not going anywhere and I would rather bet on Jeff Bezos than you. People still want news.

[twballgame9]

Bezos has actually made the Washington Post quite successful by focusing primarily on digital instead of traditional print. It got to the point it passed the NYT in digital views in 2015.

Great. Skinniest Jenny Craig participant. Or smartest BC coach.

Well it is profitable and growing, which is a good thing for business. It's basically taking the Huff Post model and adding a paywall. It's not going anywhere and I would rather bet on Jeff Bezos than you. People still want news.

Feel free to give him your money.

[flyingelvii]

I don't have to, advertisers are. Nice to see someone trying something new in that dumpster fire of an industry.