A concern?

[Hulk01]

Our 29-person football staff has only one African-American.

A worry?

[Publius]

I hope you are not being serious.  Until you posted this, I didn't notice.  We went from African-American Head Coach, OC, and DC, and now just the HC is African-American.  We have an Asian and now a Native American on the staff.  To me, this shows Shaw is color blind and that's it.

BTW I never thought about this before, but I wonder what ethnicity Tavita Pritchard is.  He looks like he could be anything or everything.  Hey did we have an Asian QB at Stanford and I didn't even realize?

[Hulk01]

Like his famous uncle, Tavita is part Samoan.

I would never question Shaw's color-blindness. The optics, however, are not up to me.  What are the optics here? 

[Publius]

I would never question Shaw's color-blindness. The optics, however, are not up to me.  What are the optics here?

Seems to me the optics are that he's color-blind.  MAYBE some people wondered whether being African-American helped getting promoted (Mason, Pep).  Now it's obvious that it doesn't matter.

If you're wondering if this impacts recruiting, I don't think it does with the student athletes we recruit.  Maybe (big maybe) with a few of the parents.  But then again, Shaw is African-American.

[stupac2]

I would never question Shaw's color-blindness. The optics, however, are not up to me.  What are the optics here?

A couple years ago we were getting press for being the first school to ever have a black HC, OC, and DC. Shaw said he didn't even notice until it was pointed out to him. I think the optics are that we're one of the few schools that has continually promoted black coaches to the highest positions, and will continue to do so when the appropriate candidates are found.

[stanfan95118]

I'm not sure "color-blindness" is the most suitable language. Most people I speak with wish to have their color/race recognized, affirmed and embraced...

[yvonne]

I like Stephen Colbert's schtick on color blindness. He claims to not see color, and not know what color he is. Of course, we see color; everyone, including the players see color. The important thing is not whether we see it, but whether it is used to discriminate, and whether we are open to understanding that those who come from backgrounds different from our own have valuable insights to offer.

[oman]

This reminds me of how weird it was as a Stanford undergrad to deal with race issues.  Everyone was so well meaning and at the same time uptight that the discussions often were so fantastically warped. 

Yes, we need a diverse staff so that we maximize the chances that any given individual feels comfortable with our staff. 

I have probably shared this story here, but when I was a senior in high school, Stanford was the last to offer, so I headed out on a flight to visit the campus -- I didn't really know exactly where it was until the bus left me off way over by the mall.  In any case, I walked to admissions office and they introduced me to the guy who would host me for a day or so.  You guessed it.  They paired me, a suburban Mexican American from Texas who was in the mood for a completely color blind undergraduate experience, with a CHICANO out of East Los.  Now over the next few years I really loved getting to know my Chicano LA friends, but Chicano was a negative term in my neck of the woods, and although I enjoyed my stay, I was frankly pissed off and confused that Stanford just assumed I wanted to be with another Mexican American.  (I of course realized that it may have just so happened that my host volunteered and it wasn't anything more than that.)

Fast forward to first day of school, moving into the dorm.  There were four hispanic men in my freshman dorm.  My two roommates and I were all hispanic.  Some luck, eh?

I was happy with my roommates and my host as individuals.  I was pretty pissed at Stanford and what I felt as an 18 year old was a pretty overbearing approach to the needs of its MINORITY  students.

[oman]

So that is where the uptight part of my "well meaning and uptight"attitude towards race comes from. 

[pefloresjr]

I agree with the others who pointed out Stanford's history of hiring black coaches and Shaw's position as head coach (Yada, yada Director of Football) as enough to overcome any short-term optics regarding diversity. 

I think that diversity and role models do matter in certain situations.  I used to think that the whole role model concept was a liberal idea that was well-intentioned but had little impact in reality.  I changed my mind during a special law school minority orientation program.  A professor from Santa Clara Law School (don't recall his name) came in to speak to us about strategies to succeed in law school.  When he entered the room, I realized that I had never before had a teacher who looked like me.  He could have easily been one of my uncles.  I had never considered becomming a law school professor and it was not one of my reasons for attending law school.  When I looked at him, an astounding thing happened to me.  I thought, "Maybe I should become a law professor."  All this happened involuntarily on a very basic, instinctual level.  I starting thinking that if he could do it, I could do it.  I didn't end up following that path, but when I saw him, my mind was opened to the possibility. 

Getting back to football, I do think that diversity is helpful in both recruiting and teaching, but it should be a secondary consideration in Coach Shaw's choices of assistant coaches. 

Cheers,
Pete F.

[PrinceLightfoot]

This reminds me of how weird it was as a Stanford undergrad to deal with race issues.  Everyone was so well meaning and at the same time uptight that the discussions often were so fantastically warped. 

Yes, we need a diverse staff so that we maximize the chances that any given individual feels comfortable with our staff. 

I have probably shared this story here, but when I was a senior in high school, Stanford was the last to offer, so I headed out on a flight to visit the campus -- I didn't really know exactly where it was until the bus left me off way over by the mall.  In any case, I walked to admissions office and they introduced me to the guy who would host me for a day or so.  You guessed it.  They paired me, a suburban Mexican American from Texas who was in the mood for a completely color blind undergraduate experience, with a CHICANO out of East Los.  Now over the next few years I really loved getting to know my Chicano LA friends, but Chicano was a negative term in my neck of the woods, and although I enjoyed my stay, I was frankly pissed off and confused that Stanford just assumed I wanted to be with another Mexican American.  (I of course realized that it may have just so happened that my host volunteered and it wasn't anything more than that.)

Fast forward to first day of school, moving into the dorm.  There were four hispanic men in my freshman dorm.  My two roommates and I were all hispanic.  Some luck, eh?

I was happy with my roommates and my host as individuals.  I was pretty pissed at Stanford and what I felt as an 18 year old was a pretty overbearing approach to the needs of its MINORITY  students.

As a first generation American from Texas with Mexican parents, I understand your point of view well. I remember having the same reaction to the word "Chicano" and never identified with it. Conversely, it never distanced me from those who proudly identified with the term either.

In response to the initial question in this thread, having at least one person in a racial demographic given the sub-cultural and geographic nuances that are practiced may not be enough. However, the fact that Shaw is the head coach is powerful for those who consider one's race important to relatability as well as satisfying the optics of diversity.

[StanFan88]

Our 29-person football staff has only one African-American.

A worry?

Go take your complaints to Rev. Al Sharpton and his five viewers on MSNBC.

[Fresbone]

Maybe we can add a blind woman in a wheelchair to the staff. :P

[BostonCard]

[quote author=Hulk01 link=topic=9539.msg83624#msg83624 date=1392043346]I would never question Shaw's color-blindness. The optics, however, are not up to me.  What are the optics here?

A couple years ago we were getting press for being the first school to ever have a black HC, OC, and DC. Shaw said he didn't even notice until it was pointed out to him. I think the optics are that we're one of the few schools that has continually promoted black coaches to the highest positions, and will continue to do so when the appropriate candidates are found.
[/quote]

I agree, but you never know.  Remember, a lot of why a kid choses to go to school X is because of the nebulous idea of "comfort", and negative recruiting is all about raising doubts and discomfort in a recruit's mind.  Although it would be tough to argue that Stanford is not friendly to Black football players given that we have a Black head coach, I'm sure someone will try to use the paucity of Black assistants against us.

BC

[Hulk01]

It's not clear why someone would assume I have taken a stand here.  I merely wanted to poll the group.

My sense is to agree with Boston Card.  It may not work, but some coaches probably will send recruits photos of our staff to recruits.  It has not looked this white at any time in my limited memory. 

I want Shaw to pick the best coach for each job, btw, and trust that he agrees.

[Publius]

On PFjr and PrinceLF's excellent point, I'm reminded of a powerful scene from my all-time favorite television show, the West Wing.  Come to think of it, it's probably my favorite scene of the entire series.  Jimmy Smits plays Matt Santos, a Texas congressman running for President.  Bradley Whitford plays Josh Lyman, who was Deputy Chief of Staff for President Bartlett (Martin Sheen) left the White House to run this underdog campaign.  In this scene, the campaign is running out of money...

[oman]

....I'm reminded of a powerful scene from my all-time favorite television show, the West Wing.

I'm a Wire fan myself, and just want to say that the there weren't enough white guys on the Street.  I mean, Steve Earle and the lawyer and that's it.

[washingtonismoney]

I'm a Wire fan myself, and just want to say that the there weren't enough white guys on the Street.  I mean, Steve Earle and the lawyer and that's it.

The longshoremen/drugdealers of Season 2?

[Extra Point]

I think this is all a big to do about nothing. We all know that racism is not a factor with Stanford football and Shaw is doing exactly what he should be doing: hiring and promoting the best people he can.

[dpbrewster]

Stanford has a notable history in hiring black head coaches (Denny, Tyrone, David).  Unprecedented in NCAA football.  Stanford currently has black AD, head football and head basketball coaches.  Also unprecedented.  I think the optics will survive any scrutiny.