Ron Cook: Steelers lucky to have Mike Tomlin as coach

[BURGH86STEEL]

So there are Steeler fans who won't give Bell, Jarvis Jones, Heyward, AB, etc credit because they're black? Were fans secretly celebrating Deebo leaving because he was black? When Dri Archer made his first splash play in preseason, there was a segment of fans who were disappointed because he doesn't look like them?

There were some fans who didn't want Tomlin hired because he is black. There are fans who still believe that Tomlin only received the opportunity to coach the Steelers because of the Rooney Rule. I believe Tomlin received the opportunity because of his intelligence and coaching abilities. There are those individuals can't stand the idea of a black man coaching the team they love. There were people who couldn't stand when black players were first introduced to collegiate and professional sports. People had no choice but to eventually accept those players because they wanted their teams to win.

Times have changed but some people's mentality hasn't changed. There is a segment of this fan base who accept black players because they are great athletes and give the team a chance to win. Kind of similar to Donald Sterling. Those same people wouldn't condone their daughters to date certain races/ethnic groups.

The reality is that we are not that far away from civil rights movement. There are people that are still a live that lived through those times. Some of the ideologies of racism were passed down from one generation to the next. Ignorance breeds ignorance. I can tell you multiple stories of racism/racist comments that I've encountered. I am multiracial. People don't know that I'm multiracial because my outward appearance could be one of several races. As a result, sometimes people will make racial comments in front of me.

What I've found is that some caucasian people don't understand racism because they are generally not victims of racism.

[thetruthteller]

I don't care if Tomlin is Black. I DO care though that he IS an Idiot!!

[Slapstick]

An idiot with a ring and a 1-0 record this season...

[WindyCitySteel]

There were some fans who didn't want Tomlin hired because he is black. There are fans who still believe that Tomlin only received the opportunity to coach the Steelers because of the Rooney Rule. I believe Tomlin received the opportunity because of his intelligence and coaching abilities. There are those individuals can't stand the idea of a black man coaching the team they love. There were people who couldn't stand when black players were first introduced to collegiate and professional sports. People had no choice but to eventually accept those players because they wanted their teams to win.

Times have changed but some people's mentality hasn't changed. There is a segment of this fan base who accept black players because they are great athletes and give the team a chance to win. Kind of similar to Donald Sterling. Those same people wouldn't condone their daughters to date certain races/ethnic groups.

The reality is that we are not that far away from civil rights movement. There are people that are still a live that lived through those times. Some of the ideologies of racism were passed down from one generation to the next. Ignorance breeds ignorance. I can tell you multiple stories of racism/racist comments that I've encountered. I am multiracial. People don't know that I'm multiracial because my outward appearance could be one of several races. As a result, sometimes people will make racial comments in front of me.

What I've found is that some caucasian people don't understand racism because they are generally not victims of racism.

How can you possibly not think that the man for whom the rule is named did not allow that to affect his decision at all?

Whites aren't the only racist people in the world. Spend some time in other cultures and get over your hatred for white people.

[Chadman]

Tomlin being hired because he's black will be an issue for as long as people...want to keep making it an issue.

For WHATEVER reason he was hired, he's proven to be astute, respectable, intelligent, engaging, successful, humble & a credit to both himself & the organisation.

Perhaps if we focus on the results of the hire instead of the reason, we might be able to move past this.

[papillon]

Tomlin being hired because he's black will be an issue for as long as people...want to keep making it an issue.

For WHATEVER reason he was hired, he's proven to be astute, respectable, intelligent, engaging, successful, humble & a credit to both himself & the organisation.

Perhaps if we focus on the results of the hire instead of the reason, we might be able to move past this.

Almost all fans have moved past it, there's always those that won't get past the fact that they don't like him for whatever reason and in their eyes he'll never be any of the adjectives that you used to describe him. That's their issue, it's unfortunate, because the Steelers have been successful with Tomlin at the helm. It's the same with Ben, there are fans that don't like his style of play, so to them, he's not a good quarterback. They never took the time to sit back and enjoy Ben, the football player and quarterback, they were too busy hating him. If they would just sit back and enjoy MT rather than continue an irrational hatred they would see the beauty in what he does.

Pappy

[MCHammer]

It's perfectly possible that Tomlin's a good coach and the Rooney Rule played a role in the hire. I would say yes to both. That said, there is legitimate concern regarding whether Tomlin is a good enough coach. He won a Super Bowl and that counts for a lot. You can call it Cowher's Team or whatever, but Cowher had a lot of teams and only won 1 himself. The reality is that Tomlin is a better than average coach, but the sample size is too small to know how good he is at this point and Steeler fans have high expectations. There is a history of this team coming out flat, unmotivated or seemingly underprepared for games they should win. Some of this also dates back to the Cowher era. I think the racial animus factor is real, but very overestimated. We're talking single digits (%) of fans that actually care about the race of the coach in this day and age. Just my take.

[feltdizz]

It's perfectly possible that Tomlin's a good coach and the Rooney Rule played a role in the hire. I would say yes to both. That said, there is legitimate concern regarding whether Tomlin is a good enough coach. He won a Super Bowl and that counts for a lot. You can call it Cowher's Team or whatever, but Cowher had a lot of teams and only won 1 himself. The reality is that Tomlin is a better than average coach, but the sample size is too small to know how good he is at this point and Steeler fans have high expectations. There is a history of this team coming out flat, unmotivated or seemingly underprepared for games they should win. Some of this also dates back to the Cowher era. I think the racial animus factor is real, but very overestimated. We're talking single digits (%) of fans that actually care about the race of the coach in this day and age. Just my take.

You are probably right about the low (%) and this is why Cook dedicated 2% of his article to address it.

Unfortunately those 8 or 9 words trumped the other 300 or so because a few people on here chose to focus on 1 sentence.

[Shawn]

It's perfectly possible that Tomlin's a good coach and the Rooney Rule played a role in the hire. I would say yes to both. That said, there is legitimate concern regarding whether Tomlin is a good enough coach. He won a Super Bowl and that counts for a lot. You can call it Cowher's Team or whatever, but Cowher had a lot of teams and only won 1 himself. The reality is that Tomlin is a better than average coach, but the sample size is too small to know how good he is at this point and Steeler fans have high expectations. There is a history of this team coming out flat, unmotivated or seemingly underprepared for games they should win. Some of this also dates back to the Cowher era. I think the racial animus factor is real, but very overestimated. We're talking single digits (%) of fans that actually care about the race of the coach in this day and age. Just my take.

Not sure the Rooney Rule had anything to do with the hire beyond icing on the cake...meaning Tomlin was his guy...it's even better because he is black. Everything else I completely agree with here.

[Shawn]

You are probably right about the low (%) and this is why Cook dedicated 2% of his article to address it.

Unfortunately those 8 or 9 words trumped the other 300 or so because a few people on here chose to focus on 1 sentence.

Unfortunately, it only takes one sentence.

[Shawn]

Tomlin being hired because he's black will be an issue for as long as people...want to keep making it an issue.

For WHATEVER reason he was hired, he's proven to be astute, respectable, intelligent, engaging, successful, humble & a credit to both himself & the organisation.

Perhaps if we focus on the results of the hire instead of the reason, we might be able to move past this.

Good post....

[Jooser]

I don't care if Tomlin is Black. I DO care though that he IS an Idiot!!

So then, what was up in the chat room yesterday with you? You said we need to run a "brother" out of the 'Burgh. You accused his play calling of being "ghetto" and said he was down on the field getting "jiggaty" with his players. Do you remember that? .... or were you too drunk to remember? At least take credit for your racially slanted arguments instead of back pedalling now. The "truth" of the matter is you do care that he's black and now you're too chicken to own up to it. Pssst, and by the way, we won yesterday, just like I told you we would. But, you guaranteed we would lose in the 3rd quarter.

[Slapstick]

Unfortunately, it only takes one sentence.

Just because a few people got in a bunch over one sentence, that does not make it gratuitous...or untrue...

This idiocy reared its pathetic head in chat yesterday...it should be addressed....

[feltdizz]

Just because a few people got in a bunch over one sentence, that does not make it gratuitous...or untrue...

This idiocy reared its pathetic head in chat yesterday...it should be addressed....

Don't waste your time...

pointing out these statements makes you a race baiter.

[papillon]

Just because a few people got in a bunch over one sentence, that does not make it gratuitous...or untrue...

This idiocy reared its pathetic head in chat yesterday...it should be addressed....

It's been addressed...

Pappy