[CTcard]

Since I was the one called out here, perhaps I should offer a mea culpa. My tone may have been off.

I do think that what I primarily did was spell out what WIM was hinting at, but it may be a poor idea to do so.

It is true, however, that at the time of Strong's hiring there were many stories indicating uneasiness about Strong among some backers of the Longhorns connected to him being black. Certainly there were comments, one of which was quoted above by WIM, that seemed to disparage Strong in ways that seemed unwarranted by his resume at that time. I admit that I do not know the detailed origin of the thinking that led to these comments, and perhaps they came from a much more benign evaluation of Charlie Strong's particular strengths and weaknesses.

In addition, it seems likely that whatever uneasiness may have existed among a few backers was not shared by anyone in the University of Texas administration. They did hire him, and they did keep him through three seasons where he never ended up with a winning record. I see nothing to criticize there in the events as I know them (which isn't all that well).

[CTcard]

Since I was the one called out here, perhaps I should offer a mea culpa. My tone may have been off.

I do think that what I primarily did was spell out what WIM was hinting at, but it may be a poor idea to do so.

It is true, however, that at the time of Strong's hiring there were many stories indicating uneasiness about Strong among some backers of the Longhorns connected to him being black. Certainly there were comments, one of which was quoted above by WIM, that seemed to disparage Strong in ways that seemed unwarranted by his resume at that time. I admit that I do not know the detailed origin of the thinking that led to these comments, and perhaps they came from a much more benign evaluation of Charlie Strong's particular strengths and weaknesses.

In addition, it seems likely that whatever uneasiness may have existed among a few backers was not shared by anyone in the University of Texas administration. They did hire him, and they did keep him through three seasons where he never ended up with a winning record. I see nothing to criticize there in the events as I know them (which isn't all that well).