Sports still lack diversity

We want our favorite teams to win, preferably within the rules. Whomever carries the ball, drives in the runs or scores the baskets is immaterial. \nJust win, baby. \nDisregard for the team's racial makeup is unintentional. After all, what does it have to do with winning? The sad truth, though, is that our conscience lags behind our passion for the game.\nNow there are two fewer African-American National Football League head coaches than there were at the beginning of the season after the ousting of Dennis Green in Minnesota and Tony Dungy in Tampa Bay. Tuesday night it was expected Dungy was to be introduced as the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts in the next couple of days, which would bring the total of coaches up to two, with Herman Edwards at the helm of the New York Jets. Two is not enough. \nArt Shell, the NFL's first African-American head coach, had only one losing season in six years as the head coach of the Los Angeles Raiders from 1989-1994, but he has not gotten another chance. Seeing that the NFL well has run dry, he contacted the University of California and IU about their head coaching vacancies but it is uncertain whether he even got serious consideration.\nMeanwhile, there are still only four African-American head coaches in major college football out of 117 Division I programs. Why are fewer than 4 percent of collegiate head coaches African-American? \nCertainly, the ratio of black to white players is not so lopsided.\nAs a result, mixed feelings emerge with the hiring of Tyrone Willingham at Notre Dame. While the Notre Dame job might be the highest-profile job at any level of the sport, the greater issue is quantity of jobs and not quality of jobs. There cannot be a lack of qualified African-American head coaching candidates. There just can't be.\nWillingham is the first African-American head coach of any sport at Notre Dame. It makes sense that the first African-American head coach of any sport at Notre Dame would be the football coach. They know that you don't make tracks by having your first African-American coach oversee the women's cross country team or some other non-revenue sport. Many of you probably thought the same thing when IU named Mike Davis the first African-American head coach of any sport at IU.\nMuch discussion has centered on whether Willingham is a pioneer or maybe even the Jackie Robinson of college football coaches. My guess is he's not, unless he gets Notre Dame back to where they compete for national championships on a regular basis. It is just so late in the game to just now be hiring its first African-American head coach that it serves merely as a small step and not major progress. \nIf he wins big he becomes a pioneer for African-American coaches like Washington Redskins quarterback Doug Williams became a pioneer for African-American quarterbacks when he led the 'Skins to the Super Bowl XXII title. (Sample stupid question from the media to Williams prior to the Super Bowl: "So how long have you been a black quarterback?")\nComparably, the story of Pumpsie Green comes to mind. Green was the first African-American to play for the Boston Red Sox, the last team to integrate. But that did not happen until 1959, 12 years after Jackie Robinson broke in with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Is it any surprise that most African-American professional athletes today view Boston as the last place they want to play? \nBy the way, the image only got furthered by what happened to Bill Russell during his illustrious career with the Celtics when police harassment was prevalent and his house was broken into and vandalized.\nMajor League Baseball has a long way to go, too. Kenny Williams of the Chicago White Sox remains MLB's only African-American general manager, and only six minorities are managers. Milwaukee Brewers pitching coach Dave Stewart was an assistant GM with the Toronto Blue Jays until November when he left for Milwaukee after getting passed over for the Blue Jays GM job.\nStewart decried baseball's minority hiring policies upon resigning, but compared to Bob Watson, the New York Yankees GM during their 1996 world championship year who remains unemployed, Stewart has to wait in line. \nMeanwhile, Phil Garner, who's white, had seven consecutive losing seasons managing the Milwaukee Brewers, but the Detroit Tigers swoop in and give him a four-year contract anyway within months after his firing. Would you be surprised to know that the Tigers have had two losing seasons in Garner's two years there after a sterling 66-96 record in 2001?\nMany minorities have made inroads in sports recently. Donald Watkins wants to buy the Minnesota Twins and become MLB's first African-American owner. Jarome Iginla leads the National Hockey League in points. Bill Cartwright just became the Chicago Bulls first African-American head coach.\nAt what point, though, do we stop caring about the racial mix of our favorite team's players, coaching staff and administration as long as they win? Where does social responsibility fit in? When do we demand more progress?