Black Coaches In NBA Have Shorter Tenures
So says the New York Times in a front-page article on racism among coaches in the NBA (thanks to JB for emailing it). The article discusses the problem with pro sports that the media loves to discuss: that black coaches are treated unfairly because of their race, while white coaches are given the benefit of the doubt. This results in longer tenures for white coaches than black coaches (1.6 years for black coaches vs. 2.4 years for white coaches).
In standard fashion, the Times waits until the last paragraph of the article to discuss one of the major reasons for the tenure discrepancy. “Team performance turned out to be the most important factor in a coach's job security; winning games and making the playoffs strongly correlated with longer coach tenures.”
The money quote in the article - Butch Beard, head coach of the New York Nets from 1994-1996 whined, ''For black coaches, you have to be a Jesus miracle worker…It's very disturbing to me.”
Beard’s record with the Nets over two seasons was 60-104; the only miraculous aspect of his performance was that he wasn’t fired after his first season.
In standard fashion, the Times waits until the last paragraph of the article to discuss one of the major reasons for the tenure discrepancy. “Team performance turned out to be the most important factor in a coach's job security; winning games and making the playoffs strongly correlated with longer coach tenures.”
The money quote in the article - Butch Beard, head coach of the New York Nets from 1994-1996 whined, ''For black coaches, you have to be a Jesus miracle worker…It's very disturbing to me.”
Beard’s record with the Nets over two seasons was 60-104; the only miraculous aspect of his performance was that he wasn’t fired after his first season.
posted by Richie Rich | 11:28 AM
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