Davestwin
Member
Speaking of stereotyping … I listened to a sports talk show while driving through Ohio before early signing day last year. They had been talking about Jack Sawyer when a caller said blue chip defensive prospects who are white only play lip service to Saban’s offers. He said that’s because they’re very aware of the fact that the very few who have signed with Bama since 2008, haven’t fared well … or something along those lines. He then asked the host if he could name the Bama starters who fit that bill. The host dodged the question and moved on to another caller.
It got me thinking though. Now, I have no idea if white or black high school players only play lip service to a Bama offer from Saban or not but I could only think of a few white guys who signed and later played on defense for Saban at Bama … Vinnie, Gentry, Lowery, Dillon and Drew. There have been a few others like Holcombe who saw some action. But as far as I could remember only the five I named saw significant playing time … and only one of them, Drew, was a true blue chip prospect. And at that time, I thought he would be a starter for Bama this season or the next. Of course, he’s now with Arkansas.
Anyway, the next time I saw a friend of mine whose son was a linebacker/TE prospect a few years ago what he and his son thought of Saban? He said pretty much the same as the Ohio caller. Their family are big UGA fans but they thought Kirby saw white players the same way as Saban. He used the word stereotype … as in both coaches use physical metrics that most white kids don’t meet. He went on to say if the science or engineering departments used mental metrics to award scholarships they’d be labeled bigots or worse. So, now on top of everything else related to race, stereotyping can be applied to white coaches when evaluating white players! That’s the world we find ourselves in today.
