Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, January 14, 1994 TAG: 9401140194
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SCOTT BLANCHARD, DOUG DOUGHTY and RAY COX STAFF WRITERS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Assistant men's basketball coaches at Radford and Virginia Tech, while sympathetic to concerns raised by the Black Coaches Association, are unlikely to join a proposed boycott.
Virginia assistant coach Brian Ellerbe has indicated he may participate, but head coach Jeff Jones fears any action that would involve the players.
"For coaches, it's a different story," Jones said. "But for the players . . . they're going to school, they're doing a lot of things. I wouldn't feel really comfortable with that, putting the players in that kind of predicament.
"Our kids have no idea what the issues are. If there is a proposal, obviously I'm going to find out as much as I can about it and we'll make sure that they're informed as to not just what action is being proposed but the reason for the action."
The Black Coaches Association has proposed a boycott to protest the NCAA's decision not to restore a 14th scholarship for Division I programs. The boycott seems likely Saturday, the anniversary of Martin Luther King's birth, though the protest now apparently won't involve players or disrupt games, a source said late Thursday.
"The idea that now seems to be gaining acceptance is to have the black head coaches walk off the court just before the game, but have the assistants stay to run the game, and not let the players join in at all," a source familiar with the situation told The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity. "That seems to be where they're headed."
The Black Coaches Association, which initially listed a variety of options, including asking coaches and players to boycott the remainder of the season, said it would announce its plans today.
"If it's going to happen, then the best way to do it would be for everybody to do it," said Dave Dickerson, a Radford assistant. "I think it's just going to be the coaches from the high-profile programs, the ones that are on television a lot.
"I will not observe the boycott. Sometimes you have to do what is in the best interests of your program. Right now, we have a good chemistry going and I would not want to take away from that."
Dickerson, like Virginia's Ellerbe and Virginia Tech assistant Chip Ferguson, is black.
"The 14th scholarship should be restored," Dickerson said. "I don't care if the kid's black, white, or Hispanic, somebody's missing out on a scholarship because of this rule. For years and years, people have gotten a start at success in life through their participation in college basketball."
Virginia Tech does not play again until Tuesday, at home against Liberty, so the Hokies can watch what happens Saturday before acting. Interviews Thursday with two Tech coaches and two players indicated the Hokies are unlikely to walk out unless there is a major national movement.
Ferguson said he does not consider the scholarship limit a racial issue, although some in the forefront of the boycott movement are portraying it that way.
"I would never boycott, because I won't leave these kids," said Ferguson, who said he is not a dues-paying member of the BCA. "I would feel like a deserter and a traitor."
Tech coach Bill Foster and seniors Jay Purcell and Corey Jackson said any action will be taken as a team. Foster said he would "have a hard time" walking out on his team, and he doesn't like the idea of players walking out, either.
"If the coaches boycott 'em . . . that's OK, because the game goes on. I have a real problem with canceling games and players being involved in boycotts. What's the next thing? Where do we go from there if somebody else is not happy with something?
"I would be hesitant to disrupt what we have going right now in college basketball without knowing more than I know now. I'd hate to start seeing games canceled, games delayed and all of a sudden the goose that laid the golden egg - which is television - gets bent out of shape."
Purcell and Jackson, both of whom are black, aren't too whipped up about the boycott threat. They want to see what happens Saturday.
"I can't see anything for me, personally, that's going to make me hold out right now," Purcell said. "But I'm holding that option open. You never know. I could do something, but I don't want to do anything to hurt Virginia Tech."
Jackson was asked what his stance toward Tuesday's game would be if a boycott does begin.
"I would want to play, to be honest with you, but if everybody's going to walk out, we need to support everybody. If we all voted as a team, yeah, I could see us doing it. But that all depends on how everything else is going."
The Associated Press contributed in formation for this report.
by CNB