Tim Sullivan
Louisville Courier Journal
https://www.courier-journal.com/sto...butch-beard-disassociates-program/4144467001/
More than half a century after he attained All-American status at the University of Louisville, basketball star Butch Beard has asked to be disassociated from the university.
In a letter emailed to university president Neeli Bendapudi on Wednesday, Beard asked that his name and accomplishments be "removed from any existing or future mention," citing the athletic department's hiring history and its failure to honor the late Wes Unseld as signs "the university’s commitment to young black men is far from what it should look like in 2021."
"The university has been remiss and negligent in its hiring practices within the athletic department," Beard wrote. "No black role models exist for the student athletes playing men's basketball or football. You may think assistant coaches in these sports are sufficient, they are not. Players need and want head coaches to confide in on real life issues on and off the court. Respect comes from the top; the head coach."
Bendapudi responded to Beard's concerns by scheduling a phone call with him for Wednesday evening and by issuing a conciliatory statement Wednesday afternoon.
“I deeply appreciate the heartfelt letter from Mr. Beard," Bendapudi said. "He is a Cardinal legend and will always be remembered for his many accomplishments on the court and in the classroom. Mr. Beard rightly points out that in the past, the university may not have always lived up to its responsibility to provide an equal opportunity to Black candidates seeking jobs at the highest levels of our athletic department. I can say with total confidence that (athletic director) Vince (Tyra) and I are committed to changing that narrative. Our goal is for the University of Louisville to achieve its full potential as an antiracist university. That means that no job candidate should ever have an advantage (or disadvantage) during the hiring process based on their race.”
Previously:Wes Unseld remembered as 'the greatest basketball player to ever come out of the state of Kentucky'
Beard said he was surprised his letter prompted a response from Bendapudi, but that she was unlikely to relax his stance.
"I won't change," he said in a telephone interview Wednesday afternoon. "I want the university to change the way its going about its business of education. I really do. I didn’t think they would respond, but they did. It doesn’t mean that they’ve changed, OK. So I’m just hoping that somewhere along the line this is the start of change ...
I’m not looking for them to go out and fire everybody and bring in a bunch of black people. But I am looking for them to bring some black people around these kids that can help them to navigate life."
Since former U of L football coach Charlie Strong left for the University of Texas in 2014, the only African-American head coach at U of L has been women's tennis coach Mark Beckham. Though Tyra has established departmental goals of diversity, equity and inclusion, which led to the creation of a committee known as S.O.A.R (Strategically Organizing Against Racism), Beard has long been frustrated with the school's lack of more tangible progress.
"In the 1960’s, U of L coaches were recruiting based on the premise that the University of Kentucky was a racist institution and U of L was a promise of a more progressive university," Beard wrote. "There were 15 black athletes on scholarships during my time at the university. Without Wes Unseld or Butch Beard there would never have been a Denny Crum era of basketball. These are simply the facts, yet the university refuses to recognize someone like Wes Unseld, (whose) shoulders every player stands on today."
Beard, who was named Kentucky's Mr. Basketball in 1965, averaged 19.0 points per game during his Louisville career, second only to Unseld's 20.6 among U of L players, and was a first-round draft choice of the NBA Atlanta Hawks in 1969. He spent 10 seasons in the NBA and later coached the New Jersey Nets, in addition to college jobs at Howard and Morgan State.
His criticism of U of L grew increasingly sharp after a series of scandals led to the firing of head basketball coach Rick Pitino, who was initially replaced on an interim basis by David Padgett, and, later, by Chris Mack, in hiring processes he considered inadequate for minority candidates.
"This is not about me wanting a job," Beard said in 2018. "This is about the university doing the right thing for the future. . The University of Louisville, to my knowledge, has yet to interview an African-American for the job. I'm not saying you give them the job, but interview them.
I would like to know if they're looking in that direction because when you have as many young black kids sustaining your program, if you don't have the right black role model around then you're not doing your job."
More recently, Beard has been bothered by the university's response to Unseld's death on June 2. The Hall of Fame center, one of four players to have his uniform number retired at U of L, had been conspicuously absent from the school in recent years. Tyra has said he offered to send a plane to bring Unseld back to Louisville for an appearance, but that the offer was declined.
As part of a group known as Memory Lane, spearheaded by former U of L basketball players, Beard had hoped to erect a statue in Unseld's honor either on campus or at the KFC Yum Center. Those efforts, undertaken without the direct involvement of the university, have stalled because of concerns voiced by the Unseld family.
Louisville Courier Journal
https://www.courier-journal.com/sto...butch-beard-disassociates-program/4144467001/
More than half a century after he attained All-American status at the University of Louisville, basketball star Butch Beard has asked to be disassociated from the university.
In a letter emailed to university president Neeli Bendapudi on Wednesday, Beard asked that his name and accomplishments be "removed from any existing or future mention," citing the athletic department's hiring history and its failure to honor the late Wes Unseld as signs "the university’s commitment to young black men is far from what it should look like in 2021."
"The university has been remiss and negligent in its hiring practices within the athletic department," Beard wrote. "No black role models exist for the student athletes playing men's basketball or football. You may think assistant coaches in these sports are sufficient, they are not. Players need and want head coaches to confide in on real life issues on and off the court. Respect comes from the top; the head coach."
Bendapudi responded to Beard's concerns by scheduling a phone call with him for Wednesday evening and by issuing a conciliatory statement Wednesday afternoon.
“I deeply appreciate the heartfelt letter from Mr. Beard," Bendapudi said. "He is a Cardinal legend and will always be remembered for his many accomplishments on the court and in the classroom. Mr. Beard rightly points out that in the past, the university may not have always lived up to its responsibility to provide an equal opportunity to Black candidates seeking jobs at the highest levels of our athletic department. I can say with total confidence that (athletic director) Vince (Tyra) and I are committed to changing that narrative. Our goal is for the University of Louisville to achieve its full potential as an antiracist university. That means that no job candidate should ever have an advantage (or disadvantage) during the hiring process based on their race.”
Previously:Wes Unseld remembered as 'the greatest basketball player to ever come out of the state of Kentucky'
Beard said he was surprised his letter prompted a response from Bendapudi, but that she was unlikely to relax his stance.
"I won't change," he said in a telephone interview Wednesday afternoon. "I want the university to change the way its going about its business of education. I really do. I didn’t think they would respond, but they did. It doesn’t mean that they’ve changed, OK. So I’m just hoping that somewhere along the line this is the start of change ...
I’m not looking for them to go out and fire everybody and bring in a bunch of black people. But I am looking for them to bring some black people around these kids that can help them to navigate life."
Since former U of L football coach Charlie Strong left for the University of Texas in 2014, the only African-American head coach at U of L has been women's tennis coach Mark Beckham. Though Tyra has established departmental goals of diversity, equity and inclusion, which led to the creation of a committee known as S.O.A.R (Strategically Organizing Against Racism), Beard has long been frustrated with the school's lack of more tangible progress.
"In the 1960’s, U of L coaches were recruiting based on the premise that the University of Kentucky was a racist institution and U of L was a promise of a more progressive university," Beard wrote. "There were 15 black athletes on scholarships during my time at the university. Without Wes Unseld or Butch Beard there would never have been a Denny Crum era of basketball. These are simply the facts, yet the university refuses to recognize someone like Wes Unseld, (whose) shoulders every player stands on today."
Beard, who was named Kentucky's Mr. Basketball in 1965, averaged 19.0 points per game during his Louisville career, second only to Unseld's 20.6 among U of L players, and was a first-round draft choice of the NBA Atlanta Hawks in 1969. He spent 10 seasons in the NBA and later coached the New Jersey Nets, in addition to college jobs at Howard and Morgan State.
His criticism of U of L grew increasingly sharp after a series of scandals led to the firing of head basketball coach Rick Pitino, who was initially replaced on an interim basis by David Padgett, and, later, by Chris Mack, in hiring processes he considered inadequate for minority candidates.
"This is not about me wanting a job," Beard said in 2018. "This is about the university doing the right thing for the future. . The University of Louisville, to my knowledge, has yet to interview an African-American for the job. I'm not saying you give them the job, but interview them.
I would like to know if they're looking in that direction because when you have as many young black kids sustaining your program, if you don't have the right black role model around then you're not doing your job."
More recently, Beard has been bothered by the university's response to Unseld's death on June 2. The Hall of Fame center, one of four players to have his uniform number retired at U of L, had been conspicuously absent from the school in recent years. Tyra has said he offered to send a plane to bring Unseld back to Louisville for an appearance, but that the offer was declined.
As part of a group known as Memory Lane, spearheaded by former U of L basketball players, Beard had hoped to erect a statue in Unseld's honor either on campus or at the KFC Yum Center. Those efforts, undertaken without the direct involvement of the university, have stalled because of concerns voiced by the Unseld family.
