Concluding that Red McCombs’s statements were in any way racist is to take the leap that the media wishes one to take. If one claims that his statements are racist in nature, then it would follow that the claimant can read Mr. McCombs mind, because I listened to his comments and found nothing racially offensive whatsoever. The claim of racism in this case is a claim borne in media-induced stereotypes such as “Texas”, “good ole boys,” “wealthy old southern men” coupled with Strong being the first black male to be a head coach at Texas. I’ll admit that when I saw the headline, my first thought was along those lines.
No, this is more about Red not being part of the decision – a decision that he felt he had a major say-so in. The former owner of the Spurs, Nuggets, and Vikings has given UT over 100 million dollars. A business school is named for him there, and there is a statue of him in the stadium. Red likes to take credit for the hire of his friend Mack Brown, and now his feelings are hurt because he was not in on the decision to hire Brown’s replacement. Further, it is his opinion that UT could have found a much more higher profile coach with more experience as a head coach. I agree with him in that respect, so does that make me a racist? There is also the rap on Strong that he is not booster-friendly, nor does he stray far from his office or the football field to promote Louisville football and help bring in revenue for the program through personal appearances and so forth. Whether that is true I don’t know, but if it is, it probably won’t settle well in Austin. I say that in three years Strong will be told to hit the trail.
