Unequal Treatment in College Basketball: White Coaches vs. Black Coaches
By Ken Reed
Carron J. Phillips wrote a powerful column for Deadspin the other day. The column highlighted the unequal treatment that Black coaches get in college basketball compared to their white peers.
In particular, the column noted that Chris Beard and Will Wade have both landed new jobs after being involved in ugly scandals. Moreover, Rick Pitino is back in the NCAA tournament as head coach of Iona after not one, not two, but three major scandals at Louisville. He’s also rumored to be the next head coach at St. John’s.
Meanwhile, Beard was recently hired by Ole Miss after losing his job at Texas following his arrest for allegedly strangling his fiancee. Ole Miss was in classic sportwashing mode after hiring Beard, downplaying his arrest. Here’s the police report on Beard’s arrest that Ole Miss officials wish didn’t exist.
Wade recently got the job at McNeese State after being fired at LSU for five Level One and one Level Two violation accusations from the NCAA.
Phillips asked this rhetorical question: “Tell me, have you ever seen a Black coach be that dirty and remain hirable?”
Of course not.
Instead, Black assistant coaches are the scapegoats for the white head coaches they worked for. Some of them not only lost their jobs but got prison time.
Here’s the bottom line question: What Black head coaches could be involved in scandals like Pitino, Beard and Wade were, lose their jobs, and then go out land new NCAA Division I head coaching jobs?
It shouldn’t take you long to answer that question.
— Ken Reed, Sports Policy Director, League of Fans

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Media
"How We Can Save Sports" author Ken Reed appears on Fox & Friends to explain how there's "too much adult in youth sports."
Ken Reed appears on Mornings with Gail from KFKA Radio in Colorado to discuss bad parenting in youth athletics.
“Should College Athletes Be Paid?” Ken Reed on The Morning Show from Wisconsin Public Radio
Ken Reed appears on KGNU Community Radio in Colorado (at 02:30) to discuss equality in sports and Title IX.
Ken Reed appears on the Ralph Nader Radio Hour (at 38:35) to discuss his book The Sports Reformers: Working to Make the World of Sports a Better Place, and to talk about some current sports issues.
- Reed Appears on Ralph Nader Radio Hour League of Fans’ sports policy director, Ken Reed, Ralph Nader and the New York Times’ Tyler Kepner discussed a variety of sports issues on Nader’s radio show as well as Reed’s updated book, How We Can Save Sports: A Game Plan. Reed's book was released in paperback in February, and has a new introduction and several updated sections.
League of Fans is a sports reform project founded by Ralph Nader to fight for the higher principles of justice, fair play, equal opportunity and civil rights in sports; and to encourage safety and civic responsibility in sports industry and culture.
Vanderbilt Sport & Society - On The Ball with Andrew Maraniss with guest Ken Reed, Sports Policy Director for League of Fans and author of How We Can Save Sports: A Game Plan
Sports & Torts – Ken Reed, Sports Policy Director, League of Fans – at the American Museum of Tort Law
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