Prof suggests there are too many White people in college sports
A professor from the University of Central Florida argued in an op-ed that there are too many White people in administrative positions within college sports.
To solve the problem, Lapchick suggested a rule that would make the NCAA “hire more coaches of color.”
A University of Central Florida professor wrote an op-ed in which he suggested that there are too many White people working in college sports administration roles.
Business Professor and Human Rights Activist Richard Lapchick at the University of Central Florida suggested in an ESPN op-ed that there are too many White people in college football administrative positions, calling for the need for more diversity in positions of power.
In the ESPN op-ed, Lapchick wrote that in the wake of the “police killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor,” student-athletes are turning to activism and demanding “stronger leadership and accountability from the institutions and the NCAA on social justice issues.”
However, colleges and universities “continue to fail” to hire on the basis of race in sports, he said.
Lapnick backed up his claim b citing statistics from the 2020 DI FBS Leadership College Racial and Gender Report Card of the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport (TIDES) at the University of Central Florida.
“Colleges and universities in Division 1 Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) scored a B- for racial hiring practices in 2020 after scoring a C in last year’s report,” the business professor noted. “As in previous years, White men continue to dominate leadership positions at these institutions of higher education.”
“While it is important to note the progress, it does not diminish the fact that of all the 2020 Racial and Gender Report Cards (including MLB, NBA, WNBA, NFL, and MLS), the FBS schools’ combined D+ grade was by far the worst,” Lapnick emphasized.
Lapnick continued to state statistics that White people held the majority of positions of power in college and university administrations, such as chancellor, president, athletic directors, and faculty athletic representatives.
To help explain the cause for the lack of diversity on the field, Lapnick turned to Rainbow/PUSH Coalition Rev. Jesse Jackson.
“The lack of diversity in hiring practices is usually based on a trickle-down effect,” Jackson told Lapnick. “If there are no people of color at the top making decisions, there is less awareness and sensitivity to the need to include qualified minority candidates as an ongoing priority.”
As a result, the lack of diverse leadership in positions of power has caused “an insufficient number of minority coaches and staff within athletic departments,” according to Jackson.
Lapnick said he has “no doubt that if there was more diversity within university leadership positions it would impact the hiring of head coaches.” Lapnick proposed adopting a rule that would make the NCAA “hire more coaches of color.”
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“I have been in conversations with five other conferences about adopting such a rule,” the professor said. “The NCAA maintained that its member institutions would never approve such a rule.”
However, Lapnick believes that it would “hasten positive change.”
Campus Reform reached out to Lapnick for comment but did not receive a response.
Follow the author of this article on Twitter: @LelaGallery
