PATERNO AND RACE
Paterno links black athletes to increased scoring – ESPN.com
An old friend out in San Francisco asked me in an e-mail if there would be any fallout from Joe Paterno’s statements on black athletes during the Big11Ten conference call yesterday. Off Wing Opinion also noted it.
You have to be careful the way you say things sometimes. Poor [Air Force coach] Fisher DeBerry got in trouble, but the black athlete has made a big difference. They have changed the whole tempo of the game. Black athletes have just done a great job as athletes and as people in turning the game around.
I don’t see anybody getting terribly upset about this as it comes across a little more articulate than what Fisher DeBerry was saying. Plus, Paterno has national credibility that DeBerry does not have and a strong record in racial matters. I think ESPN is just looking for a story.