Check out some of the top responses below, then click on the viewpoints to the right to get different takes on the issue.

Got a topic you want us to discuss in the next BV Sports Town Hall? Drop us an e-mail and we'll serve it up.

Your Call

I have a brother who’s in the NBA and I would have to say that you get what you demand. We have to remember these guys are coming into the league at 18 and 19 years of age, fresh out of high school or a couple of years of college. Their first paycheck is one of our annual W-2 statements. Just like the little white kids with the unlimited bank accounts they feel like they are above people. But what helps keep them grounded is family telling them the truth about themselves. They have to know they are replaceable. Most black coaches that I have had the pleasure of meeting don't stand for the foolishness, so the guys don't have a choice but to respect them. It's not just NBA players, but it’s anaywhere that you have kids being asked to be adults and act like adults. There is no balance in their lives. These kids come out of school buying things that the coach can't afford to buy and he's a former player. So I think it really depends on the kid and the man behind the bench. I think what happened with Mo Cheeks was that when these guys were messing up big time, he should have let management do what they had to do and not try to spare these cats. With Coach Silas, no one disrespects him! He's like the John Thompson of the NBA. He loved those players like they were his own, but he demanded respect and he got it.
-- Godtwin

Unfortunately, as African Americans, we have been programmed to believe that a black person cannot be qualified to do anything that takes superior mental performance as well as his/her white counterpart. It is very difficult to get past the stereotype that festers deep down inside. Most players won't admit it publicly but many probably feel inside that they don't really feel a black coach can cut it. Unfortunately, the real truth is that the thinking is that the black candidate isn’t as good and therefore isn’t up to the task. Until we, as a people, who have the same opportunities as whites, learn to give ourselves credit for equal intelligence this sad inner thought process will continue.
--RuthieGold

I have always felt black players from high school, college and the professional ranks play better and harder for white coaches than they do for black coaches. I saw it in Houston when Don Chaney was head coach of the Rockets. I am a former high school basketball coach and I saw it in high school. I don't think the black players for the Cleveland Cavaliers gave Paul Silas a vote of confidence. Do you think Silas would have been fired if LeBron James had spoken up for him? As far as Maurice Cheeks, I am not sure how black he is. He had more non-black assistant coaches than he had black.
--Joe Booker, Sports Editor Houston Forward Times BookJ3

I am a basketball referee. I am also African American. The black players don't respect a black coach on any level. Take a look to see the reactions they present when they are removed from a game. The language that they use toward the coach is terrible. I am so embarrassed when I hear this type of talk.
--Swizz52

The problem in my opinion is that blacks in general have spent too much time in the past supporting anything black. If they were right or wrong, it didn't matter, they are black. Now when they actually are called on to perform, they have that black coach who they know will always back them weather they perform up to their capabilities or not. Therefore, you get a lower performance. So yes, black players perform better for white coaches.
--JDV

I have seen this going on for so long and I'm always wondering why so many of our black men can't see the light. When we disrespect a black head coach or whomever else is black and in charge, we are disrespecting ourselves. Suppose one day, one of these knuckleheads wants to be a head coach and the owners are very skeptical about hiring him because black players don’t respect black coaches, a problem this knucklehead started. He has no one to blame but himself because he helped create the problem. Do you think Vince Carter would have thrown a white coach on the table like he did the coach for Toronto? Don't think so. We all see how much of an Uncle Tom Vince is. Look how hard he is playing now. He even said he wasn't playing hard in Toronto. Also did you see the interview with Lebron James, Camelo Anthony, Magic Johnson & Larry Bird? Lebron James referred to Erving Johnson as “Magic” but he referred to Larry Bird as Mr. Bird. When the commentator asked him why he called Bird “Mr. Bird” and called Magic “Magic”, he said he considers Magic his friend. Isn't that dumb? I can be your friend but you should still respect me as a man. You don't see this in football like you see it in basketball. You don't see black female coaches having such a problem.

As for the excuse that these guys didn't have a father figure in their lives, give me a break. When you become a man, you should simply know right from wrong. We are supposed to be and I repeat, supposed to be, intelligent human beings. What we see here is the problem we have with us not just in sports but on all levels . We just don't support one another and I'm going to give you a final example:

Asians are doing pretty well in this area where I live. They have their own stores, apartments, laundromats etc. and these people came here with nothing, I mean dirt poor. So how did they do this? Several families live in one house. They all work together to help family A get on their feet. Then they help family B and so on. Now imagine several black families living in one house. Case closed. Sincerely,
--Ricky Williams WRICKY922

As a former player and coach, I am acquainted with both sides. I found that black coaches have to work twice as hard as their counterparts. Like anything else, whites get the respect because of the slave mentality that overshadows us. We let the media and fans dictate who should lead. Whether its quarterbacks, bandleaders, captains or whomever, we always look to mister whitey because it’s psychological. I have had a white and black coach so the respect is mutual for me. I found players are reluctant to play for black coaches because the feel they won’t get to be in the lime light. Look at sports today and see how many are there and how long they stay at the top. Times have not changed much and it won’t in the future.
-- JihmSuh

I don't feel the players respect or play hard for a black coach and it's down right pathetic. I watched as Denver played like crap under Michael Cooper, but low and behold give them a white coach and all of a sudden they can't be beat. Darius Miles, in my opinion is a straight up joke who should be playing CBA ball. This guy says he was just waiting for Mo to be fired. What? Miles is a first round draft choice whose game is garbage and who should have been glad someone gave him a second chance.

Baron Davis stays hurt with some petty injury while at New Orleans but now that he has a white coach he’s all better. Hah. The NBA is becoming a joke to me. I can go to the park and see better games.
--Indpls898

Pages 1 2 3 4 5 6