I am unapologetically Canadian. I make no qualms about that. So, when news reverberated throughout social media outlets about the recent hiring of former NBA MVP Canadian Steve Nash, I was literally floored. As a Canadian, I was happy for Nash, and welcomed the new spotlight that would be placed on Canadian coaches, such as myself. However, I’d be lying if I said I was not equally dismayed at the direct privilege the hiring of Nash, who is white, speaks to.
Nash’s resume reads like an epitome of basketball success, a two-time MVP and eight-time NBA All-Star — a candidate deserving of consideration for most jobs in professional basketball. A definite shoe-in for a fledgling for a franchise such as the Nets, it would seem.
However, the issue that arises during this coronation is of Jacque Vaughn, an African American coach, who became head coach of the Brooklyn Nets on an interim basis when then coach Kenny Atkinson abruptly stepped down and took the helm of a team devastated by injuries, that scraped its way through the regular season and stumbled into the 2020 playoff bubble at Disney in Orlando, Florida.
While a serviceable player as a pro, as a head coach, Vaughn was never really given much to work with as evidenced in Orlando where he failed to have a winning season in his three-year tenure there. This trend continued as he was thrust into a lead role earlier this year when the Nets and Atkinson agreed to part ways. With the prospects of superstars Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant set to come back from injuries next season, this seemingly would be an excellent opportunity for the young coach to finally get a shot at a team with high-caliber players. Or so it would seem.
The Nets, along with their list of underachieving youthful players, were unceremoniously exterminated from the playoffs by last year’s champs, the Toronto Raptors. This proved to be the perfect opportunity for the Brooklyn-based organization to court the likes of one Steve Nash to lead the fledgling organization into the new decade. While doing so, the Nets relegated the interim head coach Vaughn back to his role as an assistant. An all too common result in the NBA and to further extent most of professional sports.
Again, the gripe is not with the hiring of Steve Nash. The issue is that a former white player with absolutely no real professional coaching experience has taken a head job over a more qualified Black coach. In a recent interview with TMZ Sports, three-time NBA champ and former NBA coach Byron Scott stated that: “We (Black coaches) don’t get those jobs where you have built-in superstardom guys on that roster right away. We get the kind of jobs where you have to make something out of nothing and when you don’t or you’re not able to do it, they’ll say, ‘Well, we gave him the opportunity.’”
Black coaches are told to start from scratch and build from the ground up, and when their time is up, another non-Black coach comes in and reaps the benefits of their tireless work.
Simply put, many non-Black coaches are given jobs with ready-made rosters that are built for success, while Black coaches are told to start from scratch and build from the ground up, and when their time is up, another non-Black coach comes in and reaps the benefits of their tireless work.
The NBA is a predominantly Black league. While Black players occupy the majority of positions on a given team, the person coaching them is usually white. There is an overwhelming perception that Black people do not have the qualifications to lead a team. A false narrative that has been dictated to the masses, underscored by examples like that of Mark Jackson, who most recently help to build the juggernaut that is the Golden State Warriors and was relieved of his duties right before they went on their championship run with Steve Kerr who was seemingly grandfathered into the position.
The timing of the hiring of Nash is decidedly a curious move, as the entire world, especially the United States, is embroiled in a reckoning around race relations.
The timing of the hiring of Nash is decidedly a curious move, as the entire world, especially the United States, is embroiled in a reckoning around race relations, more specifically anti-Black racism, and as individuals, entities and corporations are being brought to task for their historically biased, racist and prejudiced pasts. For the NBA, one of the professional sports leagues that has been at the forefront of the Black Lives Matter movement, to hire a white coach over an equally qualified — some would argue more qualified coach — to run a team particularly in a market with a large African American demographic, is highly irresponsible during these times. It speaks to a level of indifference that corporate America exudes when dealing with Black issues beyond the level of simply emblazoning the words Black Lives Matter on court surfaces, dressing room doors and boardroom offices.
Kudos to Nash and his new appointment. It’s an appointment that potentially validates the relevance of Canadian coaching contributions to professional basketball. However, it also highlights a critical disparity in the way Black coaches are valued.
Photo by Derice Jason Fahnkow from Pexels