Calling Out Jason Whitlock

Jason Whitlock? Merlin here. Since we don’t really know each other and this is a serious question/challenge, I will address you properly and not as I like to refer to you here as Jabba the Whitless. Now, Jason, I am going to engage you on your level of analysis, in the hope that you will take up a racial cause. Race is one of your favorite topics, so I know you will be shocked to hear about the obvious discriminatory attitudes among black NFL players.

Recently, I was reading about a 2007 poll about what NFL head coaches players wanted to play for. The top five are: Tony Dungy, Lovie Smith, Bill Belichick, Herm Edwards and Mike Tomlin. Given your skin deep level of analysis, what jumps off the page? Well, four out of five of the coaches are black. Given that there are only seven black head coaches, this result is statistically highly improbable. Given your history, I expect you to take up the cause of the beleaguered white head coach. To help, I will point out some ‘obvious’ points you should be making.

1. The only white coach on the list is the most successful coach in recent memory. Therefore, a white head coach has to be many times better than a black head coach to get the ‘love’ from the players.

2. Black head coaches make up less than 22% of the coaching fraternity yet make up 80% of the list, obviously black players are highly prejudiced towards white head coaches.

3. Every coach in the list of five coaches players least want to play for are white including Bill Belichick (yes, he is on both lists). It is fair to say that only black head football coaches enjoy a high level of popularity without a racial backlash?

On a personal note, Jason, I don’t actually believe any of this. So, I will give you a choice in the challenge. What I have done here is use the same level of analysis you use in your columns. So, the amended challenge is either A.) Write an article along the lines outlined above, decrying the lack of respect for white head coaches and calling out players for their racial bias; or B.) Write an article explaining why this analysis and your other racial analysis articles are simplistic and not well reasoned.

I look forward to reading your reply.

Merlin