East High Basketball Coach Accused Of Racism
(KUTV) SALT LAKE CITY - Gianni Ellefsen loved coaching basketball at East High, but what he didn't like was what he heard from the school's head coach, Skip Lowe.
Ellefsen says Lowe made several comments saying there were fewer problems at the school when "we were whiter," he told 2News.
"It was said you can't rely too much on this kid, he could get killed in a gang fight," Ellefsen said Lowe has proclaimed in the past.
Yet Lowe denies the racist claims.
"I've never once said things were worse. I said they were different and that I stand by 100 percent," Lowe said in an interview.
East High Principal Paul Sagers says the differences are a fact: more transportation issues for kids, grade issues, etc.
Sagers says Ellefsen's complaints were investigated and reported to the school district and that the complaints had nothing to do with Ellefsen getting dismissed.
Ellefsen is now looking for another coaching job. Lowe will hold on to his.
To hear more, watch the attached video.
(Copyright 2011 Four Points Media)
I personally find the actions of this coach to be completely unacceptable. I saw multiple news programs broadcast this story and the whole time I was completely taken back by the attitude of the coach. He should not be making any comments that relate to the color of his players' skin. When the coach admitted that he has stated that things used to be different, I cannot help but wonder if the difference is the increased number of minority athletes who are now on his team. If I were a player on this team I would be offended by this comment. I also do not agree with the comments that the school principal has said either. He mentions that transportation and grades have become an issue for players on the team. I get the idea that these issues are mainly coming from the non- white players. The coach and principal need to take the time to consider that maybe these issues are being caused by the poor economic situation, not the race of the players. I also wonder why the assistant coach was magically released from his coaching duties after going public with the inappropriate behavior of the coach, even though they say it was for other reasons.
Do you believe that the school boards actions of allowing the coach to continue to coach are acceptable?
Also, do you think that the coach even recognizes the inappropriateness of his words?
-Kimberly Johnson
This is really interesting. I'm sure that there's some truth to what the coach is saying. The demographic in downtown Utah has changed from what it used to be (white and rich) to a more mixed population ethnically and economically.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the troubles with athletes probably come more from their home environment and their socioeconomic status than anything inherently racial, and that the coach should have framed his comments that way instead of turning it into a racial thing, but I don't think that it's awful for him to talk about issues like that. Being open about issues you see in your community is better than being politically correct so you don't step on anyone's toes.
Long story short, he went about talking about them the wrong way but the issues he was illustrating are real and hopefully because he's aware of them he's trying to help fix things.