Is Larry Johnson racist?

[heyabbott]

I think it's natural that he's able to relate to Herm better than JoePa or his other white coaches. It sounds like they have similar life experiences, so I don't see a problem with what he's saying, and I don't consider it racist.

That said, a white athlete who says he can't relate to his black coach would certainly be excoriated in the press.

If Peyton Manning said it about Dungy, he'd never see a dime of endorsement money, would be sliced, diced and pureed by the national media, would be called a racist, at the very least. Unless of course Peyton could prove his great great great grandmother got nailed by Ken Norton's great great great Grandfather.

 

[jay_christley]

To be fair, he was asked if he related better to Herm because he was black.
It's not like he just threw it out there in a random, locker room interview.

I just can't imagine a white guy saying, "you know, I can't see sending my kid to play at Washington for Coach Willingham, because Tyrone's not going to be able to understand what it's going to be like for me to go to the country club and have to deal with the jokes from my friends about playing my son playing for a black coach" and not getting roasted.

I also find it interesting that there's nary a peep about this, while Strahan's comments get put into heavy rotation on ESPN News.
Again, there's a lot of reasons for this. I just find it interesting.

BTW, I agree with the notion that you don't have to relate for your coach (or boss). You've got to play (work) for him. That's why you're getting paid. You don't need to be friends with your superiors to get your job done.

 

[joe]

Larry Johnson, a modern-day Jim Brown. Without the same social situation Brown faced.

 

[heyabbott]

Larry Johnson, a modern-day Jim Brown. Without the same social situation Brown faced.

The same Larry Johnson that beat his former girlfriend? 2 prior arrests for domestic violence. Much more like Jim Brown? Wasn't his ex-girlfriend white, the one he allegedly beat on? Maybe he's got some latent hostility against white folks

 

[Chuck~Taylor]

I think it's natural that he's able to relate to Herm better than JoePa or his other white coaches. It sounds like they have similar life experiences, so I don't see a problem with what he's saying, and I don't consider it racist.

That said, a white athlete who says he can't relate to his black coach would certainly be excoriated in the press.

If Peyton Manning said it about Dungy, he'd never see a dime of endorsement money, would be sliced, diced and pureed by the national media, would be called a racist, at the very least. Unless of course Peyton could prove his great great great grandmother got nailed by Ken Norton's great great great Grandfather.

Yeah, but you have to take into context that minorities go through different experiances in life. Some just feel more comfortable with someone that they can relate to. That dosn't mean he hates playing for a white coach.

 

[DisembodiedOwlHead]

The follow-up question should have been to ask Johnson to elaborate on his attempts to relate to his former white coaches.... I think it's pretty easy to fail to relate if you didn't make an effort.

 

[shotglass]

Yeah, watching from afar -- I have never covered Johnson or any of his teams -- he comes across very much as the Angry Young Man, always looking to for some perceived slight to get pissed off about.

If someone in our office mentions "The Angry Young Man," everyone knows who's he talking about. Nothing else needs to be said.

Think he smiled twice in his Penn State career.

 

[Chef]

Yeah, watching from afar -- I have never covered Johnson or any of his teams -- he comes across very much as the Angry Young Man, always looking to for some perceived slight to get pissed off about.

If someone in our office mentions "The Angry Young Man," everyone knows who's he talking about. Nothing else needs to be said.

Think he smiled twice in his Penn State career.

That's why it's called "Grumpy Valley"

 

[Boom_70]

Whitlock's take:

6. On the latest edition of “Inside the NFL,” Bob Costas, Cris Carter, Cris Collinsworth and Dan Marino did a pretty fair job of discussing a somewhat controversial statement by Chiefs running back Larry Johnson.

In an interview with Carter, Johnson extolled the virtues of head coach Herm Edwards and suggested he and Edwards' rapport could be attributed to their shared African-American heritage. Johnson had a horrible relationship with deck Vermeil, who was highly upset when the Chiefs drafted Johnson in 2003 rather than a defensive player. Vermeil relegated Johnson to third-string status behind Priest Holmes and Derrick Blaylock.

After a leading question by Carter, Johnson went on to say that he believes it's difficult for black players to accept discipline and direction from white coaches because white coaches don't understand the trials and tribulations of black athletes.

When the interview was over, Costas appropriately called bull(spit) on Johnson's statement. Carter attempted to defend Johnson by recasting Johnson's statements in a less polarizing light. Costas wouldn't let it go. Collinsworth jumped in and offered a stronger defense of Johnson, acknowledging that many black players feel the way that Johnson does. Marino followed in behind Costas, calling bull(spit) and stating it's all about head coaches getting teams to win, not about relating to individual player's individual situations.

I'm not doing the conversation proper justice. You need to catch a rerun of the show. It was a good, passionate, respectful debate of a sensitive subject. I was proud of all four panelists. They could've sidestepped the issue. They went at it head-on without resorting to yelling and buffoonery. Good for them and HBO.

Johnson is extremely immature. Vermeil did not properly handle Johnson's rookie season, and Johnson is still stewing about it. Vermeil has a marvelous track record of relating to and getting the best out of his players regardless of race. Because he was upset that Carl Peterson drafted Johnson (when the Chiefs already had Holmes and the sorriest defense in the league), Vermeil bungled his relationship with Johnson. Race played no part in the matter.

Johnson won't let the matter go. He thinks he has a great relationship with Herm because Herm is a former player and knows what it's like to go to a nightclub with a metal detector at the front door and hip hop gangstas surrounding the dance floor.

The Johnson-Edwards marriage is superior to the Johnson-Vermeil marriage because Herm knows he can't win games without Johnson. Period. That's the only difference. The Johnson-Vermeil marriage improved dramatically once Holmes got injured.

Johnson likes to posture in public. He wants to be controversial and misunderstood. He wants to be Jim Brown. He just doesn't know how to do it. He's a kid from the ‘burbs who wants street cred in the worst way.

 

[Boom_70]

When you read Larry Johnson Sr's bio its hard to believe that Larry jr could have such an unenlightened philsophy about coaches.

 

[Boom_70]

When you read Larry Johnson Sr's bio its hard to believe that Larry jr could have such an unenlightened philsophy about coaches.

Just because the father has knowledge doesn't mean that knowledge can be passed on. Larry Jr. has to learn some things on his own.

It would be hard to belielve that LJ sr did not sit around the dinner table and share his philsophies with his sons.

"Larry don't you mind Coach Paterno. The old goat has no idea how to talk to people of color"

 

[shotglass]

I gotta say ... that was well-crafted commentary by Mr. Whitlock.