The Disappearance Of The Black Coach: African-Americans Shut Out Of College Basketball

The Disappearance Of The Black Coach: African-Americans Shut Out Of College Basketball
Connecticut head coach Kevin Ollie looks on during the first half of an NCAA Final Four tournament college basketball semifinal game against Florida Saturday, April 5, 2014, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Connecticut head coach Kevin Ollie looks on during the first half of an NCAA Final Four tournament college basketball semifinal game against Florida Saturday, April 5, 2014, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Just a handful of years after the tumultuous, racially charged era of the 1960s, Georgetown coach John Thompson peered over his shoulder during a game at McDonough Gym in Northwest. What the coach saw he’d never forget. Neither would many others. “Thompson the [N-word] flop must go,” the racist banner read.

“Today, this generation doesn’t even know who John Thompson is,” said Brian Ellerbe, a Capitol Heights, Maryland, native and former NCAA Division I men’s basketball coach who worked at several schools including George Washington University in Northwest.

Like many, Ellerbe, 50, laments the glaring absence of African-American coaches in Division I basketball. Ellerbe stopped short of accusing anyone of racism and admits that a black coach today probably wouldn’t have to endure the bigotry faced by the legendary Thompson in the 1970s.

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