Call for "independent review" of racism charges made by South H.S. coach
by Scott Schaeffer-Duffy Tuesday, Mar. 07, 2006 at 10:04 AM

"If we dismiss Coach Williams's charge without absolutely clear independent review, we tell black youth in Worcester that they will never get a fair shake in this town. Let's not go that route."

It's ironic in the extreme that two days after the ground-breaking film on racism, "Crash," won the Academy Award, Worcester should be awash with angry voices denouncing coach Pat Williams for accusing two referees of racism.

I have spent much of the past two days calling South High, Holy Name, George French at the Telegram & Gazette, and the sports reporter who wrote the story on Coach Williams. I have urged everyone to respond to Coach Williams's allegations with a firm commitment to investigate his charges. Instead, school officials immediately apologized to the referees and are investigating whether or not the coach should be censured.

I understand that he violated a specific rule prohibiting criticism of specific referees following a game, but also understand that he has raised this issue repeatedly through private channels for years. The only reason his charges are now in the paper is because he went public. Criticizing his methods is like insisting that Rosa Parks should have written a letter to the bus company instead of refusing to give up her seat. At some point, it becomes clear that private action alone is ineffective.

I saw five South High games this year and noticed a definite difference when South played Holy Name and Saint John's. In both games, South took substantial leads over their opponents only to suddenly face a disproportionate number of foul calls against them. It was like watching the all-black squad from South having to play with cement blocks on their feet to even up the competition. I observed at least two specific calls against South during the game at Holy Name that were not made against Holy Name in identical circumstances. I do not know it the bias was race, religion, class, or personality, but it was apparent and galling. I saw the frustration on the South players and also saw Coach Williams try to calm them down. In similar badly officiated games which I'd witnessed at Holy Cross, I'd seen the coach challenge the refs and even get ejected, but Coach Williams didn't go that route. I didn't see any fights.

My concern at this time is that the charge of racism is being treated an a priori ridiculous idea, even, in Diane Williamson's words, "Sickening." The prevalent reaction of the white leadership of Worcester has been dismissive if not vindictive towards Coach Williams. On the contrary, I believe that racism is still such a virulent part of all societies that it must always be considered probable rather than unlikely. I think officials should have reserved comment until the game could be reviewed by an independent and competent board which includes African Americans. I still think that Coach Williams' allegations deserve investigation and, should they prove even remotely probable, redress.

My own experiences

In 1982, as a white, Irish Catholic from New England, it was quite a culture shock for me to move to an entirely black neighborhood of Washington, DC where I helped shelter the homeless

In my previous 21 years, I had only known one black person by name, and him only casually.

Two weeks into my stay in DC, I offered to take several men to the movies in Georgetown. While waiting in line to get into an expensive theater on Pennsylvania Avenue, a police officer approached my black companions and said, "We better not have any trouble from you boys tonight." When one of the men said, "We weren't doing anything," the cop poked him in the chest and said, "Are you talking back to me?" Only my insistence that they were with me convinced the police officer to leave. I was shocked at the flagrant racism, but the men shrugged it off as an everyday experience.

Since that time, I have lived in a black neighborhood in Worcester and have helped to shelter many African Americans. I have also been jailed 16 times for nonviolent civil disobedience and spent incarcerations mostly in the company of black men.

A thousand times over I have heard life stories replete with the experience of racism. Black men who use crack go to jail. White men who use cocaine do not. The negative stereotype of the black male is so pernicious that even black men educated at Harvard have told me they experience minor examples of racism almost daily. Although I have never seen the brash racism of previous times (lynchings and so on), I now accept as absolute fact that race plays a role in life, just as sexism and other biases do. If anyone doubts this, I invite them to read The Black Tax, an excellent book on post-Civil Rights racism in America.

Although White Americans have by-and-large adopted a "Get over it!" attitude toward racism against blacks, I believe all of us, myself included, still have a long way to go before we are truly colorblind.

The charges raised by South High basketball coach Pat Williams that two referees allowed racism to affect their officiating during a playoff game against the mostly white team from Holy Name has been met by a torrent of criticism. City officials immediately apologized to the referees in questions before any investigation was carried out. A columnist referred to the coach's charge as "sickening." Some have called for disciplinary action to be taken against Williams for violating league rules against making public statements criticizing officials.

Unfortunately, no one seems to be taking into account the fact that Coach Williams had properly raised these complaints often, over his six years at South, without any action being taken to correct what he saw as a reoccurirng problem. His public comments, although technically incorrect, are not dissimilar to the decision by Rosa Parks to refuse to give up her seat in the front of a segregated bus. She could have written a letter to the bus company, but at some point a person who cares for justice has to go public.

We are blessed to live in a medium-sized, multi-ethnic city where people can still call their elected officials at home and have any letter to the editor printed. Our community is small enough and caring enough to respond to racism promptly and personally. We are not obligated to become polarized on racial lines. We can listen to the voices of minorities, ethnic and economic, in order to construct a better community for all. When a Jew raises anti-semetism, a woman raises sexual harassment, or a child claims sexual abuse, we rightly take those charges very seriously. We respect the victim and carefully try to ascertain the truth.

If we dismiss Coach Williams' charge without absolutely clear independent review, we tell black youth in Worcester that they will never get a fair shake in this town. Let's not go that route.

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