As an aside, I hate things advertised as “Black content”. It seems exclusionary. I much prefer “interesting content”.
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Weird opening quote:
Boston Celtics forward Jaylen Brown was ecstatic to see seven new African American head coaches, including one for his own franchise, get hired in the NBA this offseason regardless of what the true motive may have been.
“Whether it was because they were just trying to shut us up, or because they actually believed it was the right thing to do, it don’t matter to me. That representation is important,” Brown, a 24-year-old African American, told The Undefeated. “And that’s giving people access and resources that they need and deserve to have, especially former players. They deserve to have a seat at the table too, especially in coaching positions, as well as in-office positions, ownership positions. Those are important as well, especially if they’re qualified.
Brown told The Undefeated that he told the Celtics ownership and front office last offseason that it was important to hire a Black head coach after Brad Stevens was promoted to president of basketball operations.
I defended Brown’s tweet about black coaches, but this is a more forceful “hire based upon skin color” argument. I don’t like it. There’s a fine line between advocating for equal opportunities, versus becoming a black nationalist.
Regarding basketball, I love him as a player, and he said the right things here. I’m a bit worried that the wrist is still giving him problems. Conversely, it sounds like his knee is doing great.
I think you’re not quite getting the full quote from Brown correct. Literally the following sentences:
“That’s my argument. People may disagree, like, ‘They’re not qualified. They’re just getting the job because they’re African American.’ You’ve seen people say that in the media. And things like that. That’s some [expletive]. There’s plenty of qualified African Americans and Black people that can do their job. And they deserve to have a seat at the table.”
Right, but words have meaning. If his philosophy “especially” applies to qualified candidates, it also means it applies to unqualified candidates.
And, he made it clear that the Celtics should hire based on skin color, presumably preferring a qualified coach as well. But, race was given more weight than “most qualified”. Taking JB at face value, a black coach with minimal but adequate qualifications ranks higher than a maximumally qualified white / Hispanic / Asian.
I think what he is saying with the "especially if they are qualified" line, when you read the entire article and don't hone in on a couple words and then omit some important parts, is that black people, especially those that are qualified, haven't been given a seat at the table for the longest time and they especially should have but haven't. So those people especially should be hired. But they haven't been.
It's easy to look at this and worry about the poor white coaches that might not be hired even though they may be qualified. But, how does that compared to the decades of unqualified whites getting job after job after job while qualified blacks didn't get those jobs?
In a league that is almost all black, white coaches still outnumber black coaches. Cry me a river for those poor white guys that aren't getting a job because a qualified black guy got it instead.