timvp
09-02-2003, 07:51 AM
Indy's black community upset with Bird
www.sportsbusinessnews.co...y_id=29342 (http://www.sportsbusinessnews.com/index.asp?story_id=29342)
Whether or not Isiah Thomas should have been fired Wednesday as coach of the Indiana Pacers is not the issue, community activist Amos Brown said Friday. That and this report from The Indy Star's Sekou Smith
But the perception, Brown said, is that Pacers president of basketball operations Larry Bird had no intention of giving Thomas a chance to coach the final season of his four-year contract.
Brown said the buzz in the black community concerning the dismissal is decidedly negative.
"There's disappointment and anger about this," said Brown, the director of strategic research for four local radio stations and a columnist for the Indianapolis Recorder. "Isiah was a symbol because he was the Pacers' first black coach, and until he's no longer the first, there will be some pain and hurt there."
Thomas' teams were successful in the regular season, compiling a 131-115 overall record. But they lost in the first round of the playoffs all three years.
"My concern is that the African-American community will look at the Thomas firing as a signal that blacks are, once again, the last to be hired, and the first to be fired," Pacers fan Mark Madison said.
Said fan Jerri Fleming: "I think everybody should protest, because I knew as soon as Larry Bird came back he was bringing Rick Carlisle back here. This was probably in the works for a long time."
Bird reiterated Friday that the decision to fire Thomas wasn't made until recently and that it wasn't an easy one.
"Hey, everybody's got an opinion and as long as it doesn't get personal, I don't mind," he said. "I've been through all this before.
"You like to have everybody with you and understand what you're trying to do. But my job right now is to prove that I made the right move and that we're going to do good things. And we are going to do good things here."
Brown said fans will be convinced only by Bird's actions. He said Walsh set a high standard, both in his hiring practices with the Pacers and by his presence in the community.
"Donnie, to his credit, doesn't see color," Brown said. "And that's great that he doesn't see things that way. But we don't live in a color-blind society. What I want to know is where is Larry Bird coming from as the leader of the franchise, the part that transcends what happens on the basketball court?
"What about the community relationships, the business relationships, the diversity in hiring practices, and I mean the non-basketball areas. He's going to be measured against Donnie's track record. . . . Bird's about to run it, and the perception is that he's going to bring his boys in."
Bird said he's never approached anything from the perspective of "black or white," and he won't start now.
"I've always looked at everybody the same," he said. "You treat people the way they treat you. All of our fans are very important to me and we'd never take them for granted.
"And I've always been visible in the community. When I was in Boston, I was visible. When I was (retired) in Naples, Fla., I was visible. This is my home -- Indiana's my home state -- so I'm not going to run and hide. I'll be here."
Walsh was quick to defend Bird and the organization against any accusations of impropriety in the firing of Thomas, saying it was a tough business decision.
"NBA people get hired and fired every day, and in this case it (racism) wasn't there," Walsh said. "I hope that everything I've stood for in my life says how I feel about that. I've always lived my life in a world where performance is what counts, and that's the case here.
"I've also been very close with Isiah, so if he felt that there was any of that going on here, it would just crush me." That and this report from The Indy Star's Sekou Smith
www.sportsbusinessnews.co...y_id=29342 (http://www.sportsbusinessnews.com/index.asp?story_id=29342)
Whether or not Isiah Thomas should have been fired Wednesday as coach of the Indiana Pacers is not the issue, community activist Amos Brown said Friday. That and this report from The Indy Star's Sekou Smith
But the perception, Brown said, is that Pacers president of basketball operations Larry Bird had no intention of giving Thomas a chance to coach the final season of his four-year contract.
Brown said the buzz in the black community concerning the dismissal is decidedly negative.
"There's disappointment and anger about this," said Brown, the director of strategic research for four local radio stations and a columnist for the Indianapolis Recorder. "Isiah was a symbol because he was the Pacers' first black coach, and until he's no longer the first, there will be some pain and hurt there."
Thomas' teams were successful in the regular season, compiling a 131-115 overall record. But they lost in the first round of the playoffs all three years.
"My concern is that the African-American community will look at the Thomas firing as a signal that blacks are, once again, the last to be hired, and the first to be fired," Pacers fan Mark Madison said.
Said fan Jerri Fleming: "I think everybody should protest, because I knew as soon as Larry Bird came back he was bringing Rick Carlisle back here. This was probably in the works for a long time."
Bird reiterated Friday that the decision to fire Thomas wasn't made until recently and that it wasn't an easy one.
"Hey, everybody's got an opinion and as long as it doesn't get personal, I don't mind," he said. "I've been through all this before.
"You like to have everybody with you and understand what you're trying to do. But my job right now is to prove that I made the right move and that we're going to do good things. And we are going to do good things here."
Brown said fans will be convinced only by Bird's actions. He said Walsh set a high standard, both in his hiring practices with the Pacers and by his presence in the community.
"Donnie, to his credit, doesn't see color," Brown said. "And that's great that he doesn't see things that way. But we don't live in a color-blind society. What I want to know is where is Larry Bird coming from as the leader of the franchise, the part that transcends what happens on the basketball court?
"What about the community relationships, the business relationships, the diversity in hiring practices, and I mean the non-basketball areas. He's going to be measured against Donnie's track record. . . . Bird's about to run it, and the perception is that he's going to bring his boys in."
Bird said he's never approached anything from the perspective of "black or white," and he won't start now.
"I've always looked at everybody the same," he said. "You treat people the way they treat you. All of our fans are very important to me and we'd never take them for granted.
"And I've always been visible in the community. When I was in Boston, I was visible. When I was (retired) in Naples, Fla., I was visible. This is my home -- Indiana's my home state -- so I'm not going to run and hide. I'll be here."
Walsh was quick to defend Bird and the organization against any accusations of impropriety in the firing of Thomas, saying it was a tough business decision.
"NBA people get hired and fired every day, and in this case it (racism) wasn't there," Walsh said. "I hope that everything I've stood for in my life says how I feel about that. I've always lived my life in a world where performance is what counts, and that's the case here.
"I've also been very close with Isiah, so if he felt that there was any of that going on here, it would just crush me." That and this report from The Indy Star's Sekou Smith