Tuesday, January 23, 2024

Basketball: DEI and Triple Lagniappe


Triggers. Change triggers. Everyone doesn’t get treated equally. Everyone remembers, “Shut up and dribble” when a television talking head suggested that professional athletes lacked the right to comment about social issues.  

Colin Kaepernick had a Wonderlic score of 38, among the highest among prominent NFL quarterbacks. One doesn't have to agree with all of his pronouncements but the NFL settlement of tens of millions argues that Kaepernick didn't get a level playing field. 

Three of thirty 2023-24 NFL coaches (Mike Tomlin, Todd Bowles, and DeMeco Ryans) were Black. Their teams all made the playoffs. Not saying that proves everything but older fans remember when there were no Black quarterbacks.

How does perception of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion affect basketball? Obviously, the WNBA doesn't generate the revenues of the NBA. And the salaries reflect that difference.

Donald Sterling got caught making racist statements on tape. He lost control of the Clippers for his bias. 

Former Notre Dame Women's coach Muffet McGraw hired only women. She said hiring conditions were so unequal that her hiring policy pushed back. Currently women hold 42 percent of coaching slots in Women's Division 1. 

In the mid 1980s, the UCONN Women's AD went to the players and said that he would hire the best woman coach available. The players asked why not hire the best coach available? Geno Auriemma went to Storrs. The rest is history.  

Mavericks part investor Mark Cuban made a statement about a prominent organization not considering DEI and he’s not getting blackballed. It's a billionaire thing. 

A man or a woman is not intrinsically more qualified to coach basketball, run a Fortune 500 Company, or become an Athletic Director. Most here know the coaching achievements of Pat Summitt, Tara VanDerveer, Dawn Staley, Kim Mulkey, Vivian Stringer, Sylvia Hatchell, and others. 

The key point is that they are not inherently LESS qualified either. Some say that a candidate lacks experience. You can't get experience until someone gives you the opportunity. Then you prove yourself capable or not. 

Lagniappe. Could we improve this play by moving a defender? 

Lagniappe 2. Do not overlook great advice when you hear it. "Find as many easy shots as possible." 

Lagniappe 3. I like this drill because you can make it competitive with 3-4 players at a hoop. It also defines range. 


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