BOYCOTT AUBURN: Taylor’s thoughts on Turner Gill timely and doable
Categories: Education, Featured, Racial Issues, Sports
Written By: Shawn Williams
In Friday’s Dallas Morning News, Sports Columnist Jean-Jacques Taylor suggests that Class of 2009 football recruits boycott Auburn University for their decision to hire Gene Chizik over Buffalo Head Coach Turner Gill. I agree with Taylor, and I believe that his suggestion is doable.
Read the write up on Turner Gill that I wrote before he interviewed with Auburn and before Tiger Athletic Director Jay Jacobs hired Chizik. Chizik compiled a 5-19 record at Iowa State before he was deemed “fit” to take over Auburn. Here’s what Jacobs said about the hire in a letter to Auburn fans.
Throughout the search process, we interviewed a strong group of candidates, but Coach Chizik clearly rose to the top. Everyone we talked with about Coach Chizik spoke about his impeccable character, relentless work ethic, his relationships with his players and his ability to motivate them.
I guess winning doesn’t fit into the equation huh Jay? Iowa State lost their last 10 games after wins over South Dakota State and Kent State. Yeah he was a good defensive coordinator, but to date (unlike Gill) he hasn’t show that he can translate that into head coaching success.
The most important event of the Civil Rights Era (IMHO) took place just 50 miles east of Auburn. A group of Civil Rights giants, then just ordinary citizens, dealt the first blow towards ending Jim Crow racism in the South.
The Montgomery (Alabama) Improvement Association, lead by 26 year old Martin Luther King, Jr. initiated a boycott of the city bus system after Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to relinquish her seat to a white passenger. The protest lasted for 381 days and for me is the most effective single initiative of the civil rights struggle.
The reason I believe in the bus boycott so strongly is because black folks in Montgomery withheld something from the business structure that it couldn’t do without. What was the city going to do, force people to stop walking and car pooling?
Nowadays African-Americans often make demands but are not willing to make changes to their lifestyles if those needs are not met. The way to get change in American (even in a case like the BCS) is to hit folks in their pocketbook. See the 2008 Presidential Election.
If black and white recruits withhold the one thing that a good football team can’t do without -good players- they could send shockwaves throughout college football. This is bigger than Turner Gill and Gene Chizik. If Auburn had chosen not to interview Gill, I probably would be playing Wii right now.
This is about institutional racism in the hiring practices of football coaches nationwide. Those practices are seen in boardrooms and offices across the United States.
Here in 2008, there is an opportunity to revisit the state of Alabama and Auburn’s puzzling decision to hire Gene Chizik as their next football coach. I hope to have specific actions around this in the days to come, but realize that there’s potential for Jean-Jacques Taylor’s column to serve more positive purposes than just as recyclable paper. I believe that Auburn’s 2009 recruiting efforts can be disrupted.
Letters of intent declaring where students plan to attend college are signed in February. We’ve got work to do.
December 20th, 2008 at 10:08 am
Probably the most distasteful and disappointing thing about professional and college football is this very thing.
I agree whole heartedly with Taylor. It is unfortunate that in the good ol’ boy network there can be any number of excuses for not winning as a head football coach - if you’re white. For black head coaches no amount of winning seems to be enough!
And if it’s character than counts, I can direct any team to any number of black head coaches who have great character AND losing records!!!
There is no excuse anymore and this type of racism is transparent. Maybe recruits from Texas will follow Jean-Jacques’ advice!
December 22nd, 2008 at 10:43 am
So let me get this right, if Auburn had NOT interviewed Gill, then it wouldn’t be racism? Seriously? So because Auburn was very interested in Gill and wanted to meet him and talk to him, but didn’t offer him the job because maybe they liked Chizik’s plan, or because they overlooked Chizik’s ISU record because has a GREAT history in the SEC and Auburn (there are even players that he recruited still at Auburn. Did you know that?), then that’s racism? Taylor and anyone who agrees are absolutley nuts and are exactly what is wrong with this country!
What do you think your comments are going to do for the next school that needs a coach? You are ruining the chances for the next black coach because schools are going to be cruified if they don’t hire the guy and that’s that is what’s really ubnfortunate
. Where’s the outrage against Syracuse, who also interviewed Gill but passed on him? Is it because Syracuse is in the north and Auburn is in the south? And of course ALL southerners are racist, right? Get a grip!
Did Taylor come to this conclusion because Charles Barkley said so? Come on, being a Texas writer, Taylor should know first had how Barkley likes to shoot off at the mouth? What about all of the other schools that recently hireed coaches? Tennessee, Mississippi State (they just let a black coach go, how come they didn’t replace him with another one?), Clemson, Syracuse, San Deigo State, and on and on. Where’s the outrage against those schools who ALL hired white coaches and may not have even interviewed a minority coach?
Did any of you know that Auburn interviewed Rodney Garner, who is also black, an Auburn alum, and one hell of a recruiter? He didn’t get the job. Where’s the outrage?
No one outside of the adminstration knows the facts on this, but for anyone to unfairly, without any facts what-so-ever, accuse Auburn University of being racist is ridiculous, especially since you are not attacking ANY of the other schools for not hiring Gill or any other black coach for that matter. Anyone who agrees with Taylor should take a long hard look in the mirror and see where the true racism lies.
December 15th, 2009 at 11:58 pm
Well, here we are a year after the hire and look who has 5 wins this year (Gill). I think your ridiculous boycott fell on deaf ears. Chizik has a TOP 10 recruiting class. Your one of the reason racism exist today….
January 3rd, 2010 at 5:57 pm
I don’t have a big issue with what Charles Barkley had to say about the coaching job at Auburn. I think he has a right to express his opinion because he’s from Auburn. We have to recognize what Barkley had to say about his school. Barkley looked at the record that Chizik had as a head coach of Iowa State which was a losing record. Barkley had a point, was it racist or did he have to attack every other team that were choosing a head coach if they chose to pick a white coach. No, he was attempting to call out the University that he sweated as an All American, the school in which he gives to support the University. I think he has the right to call a spade a spade.