Just a couple of examples: the worst team in the Big 12, Oklahoma, destroyed what was then the #2 team in the country, Alabama, by 24 points. As Curmie writes this on the morning of Selection Sunday, regular season champion Kansas is a virtual certainty to capture one of the four #1 seeds in the NCAA tournament and still has a chance to be the overall #1, despite being embarrassed in the final of the conference tournament in one of their six conference losses, including four by double-digits. Tournament winner Texas is now regarded as a possibility for a #1 seed, as well.
That’s the good news. The bad news swirls more around the coaches, such that the hospitalization of Kansas coach Bill Self immediately before the conference tournament with an unspecified illness (not a heart attack, as had been erroneously reported, but that’s about all we know) was only the fourth-biggest story of the season about Big 12 coaches.
The first, chronologically, was the dismissal of Texas coach Chris Beard after he was arrested for a felony after allegedly biting and attempting to strangle his fiancée. (Beard now looks to be the front-runner for the job at Ole Miss. Sigh.)
But let’s turn our attention to two other coaches—now-former Texas Tech coach Mark Adams and TCU coach Jamie Dixon, both accused of making racist remarks. Adams was initially reprimanded for “an inappropriate, unacceptable, and racially insensitive comment.” Athletic Director Kirby Hocutt subsequently suspended Adams “in order to conduct a more thorough inquiry of Adams' interactions with his players and staff.”
Later in the week, the school and Adams agreed to a settlement—about $4 million—leading to Adams’s resignation. The buyout for firing Adams without cause would have been nearly twice that figure, about $7.5 million. Either way, it appears that Adams will still be able to get the medium drink instead of the small with his #2 combo meal.
Two things strike Curmie about this situation, and they might or might not sort of contradict each other. According to the university, “Adams was encouraging the student-athlete to be more receptive to coaching and referenced Bible verses about workers, teachers, parents, and slaves serving their masters.” OK, that’s a pretty stupid thing to say, but not for the reason Texas Tech seems to want to spin the story.
There are certainly other ways than quoting scripture for a coach, especially one at a public university, to attempt to motivate players. And suggesting that the relationship between coach and player is in any way comparable to that between master and slave is not merely troubling at best, but outright idiotic.
But, as Curmie has said repeatedly over the years, whereas all racism is stupid, not all stupidity is racist. The slaves of the Bible aren’t, generally speaking, African, and Curmie sincerely doubts that Adams was suggesting anything racial at all, merely that he’s the coach, he decides what plays to run, what defenses to play, and who’s on the floor and who’s on the bench.
Still, as an excellent editorial by Ryan Sanders of the Dallas Morning News points out, it’s “tone-deaf… for a 66-year-old white man to tell a young black man to be humble, and use a Scripture about slavery to support his message.”
It may also be significant that the university upgraded its initial reprimand to outright dismissal after an investigation. The “slaves” reference may have been the tip of the proverbial iceberg, and that Adams would accept the buyout rather than demand the extra several million dollars he’d have received for being fired without cause seems as if it might be significant. Or not…
The TCU case is both more and less complicated. We don’t know exactly what Jamie Dixon is alleged to have said, only that disgruntled big man Eddie Lampkin (who has left the program) and his mom have gone public with accusations of “racial remarks.” Lampkin posted screenshots to his now-deleted Instagram account of purported text message exchanges between his mother and Dixon, and between himself and an assistant coach.
In his text, Dixon thanks Lampkin’s mom for the previous day’s conversation (which she says never took place) and wishes the best for him as he enters the transfer portal (she says no one from their end has indicated that Lampkin would do so). Lampkin himself tells the assistant coach “It’s crazy y’all let him treat us like that.” Curmie trusts that this is sufficiently weird enough for you, Gentle Reader.
There are few certainties here, but one is that Lampkin has had a rough year, both personally (his brother was killed last summer and an apparently beloved aunt died earlier this year) and on the court (roughly 6 points and 6 rebounds in 20 minutes a game). He’s clearly not firing on all cylinders, either athletically or emotionally. He seems to believe that his teammates have been similarly mistreated (notice the “us” in his text to the assistant coach), but none of them seem to be supporting his claims.
Does that mean his allegations are false? Not inherently, of course, but there seems to be nothing in Dixon’s career to indicate any racial animus. All three of the assistant coaches are black, as are both players who were getting on-court minutes Lampkin apparently thought should be his.
Steven Johnson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram writes in an article in which the words “puzzling criticism” appear in the headline:
The Star-Telegram spoke to multiple Black parents of current players and to another longtime AAU Black coach who has had multiple athletes play for Dixon.
All said their children and players have never told them of any racist or racially insensitive comments made by Dixon.
One parent said she immediately called her son after Lampkin’s post, and the player informed her that he never heard Dixon say anything racist….
The AAU coach said Dixon, “knows the hell out of some basketball,” and he has never heard any type of racial accusations about Dixon from players or his colleagues.
Johnson, a black man himself, concludes, “Suffice to say, there’s no evidence of a culture problem with the TCU men’s basketball program.”
Johnson’s colleague Mac Engel is even more outspoken. His first sentence reads, “Eddie Lampkin, or someone in Eddie Lampkin’s family, failed to realize that Eddie Lampkin was barely a decent college basketball player.” Ouch.
Shortly thereafter, we get this: “Unfounded allegations of racist language against anyone is a great way to terminate a relationship.” He’s just warming up:
Lampkin could have been one of those college players who would be welcome at his alma mater forever, instead he will leave in disgrace, and disappointment.
The team was tired of him. The athletic department had had it with him.
Although he had NIL money exceeding six figures, according to sources his priority was more NIL deals. And he was not happy about playing time.
It was hard to justify that much more playing time for a player who stopped working, and acted as if he was better than his production.
He is talented. He isn’t talented enough to be lazy….
There was “stuff” off the court the team grew tired of; it was drama without the points and rebounds. Teammates will put up with noise for production.
Tell us what you really think, Mac!
TCU is outwardly unconcerned about Lampkin’s accusations: Dixon was on the sidelines in the conference tournament, in which TCU staged a mild upset of Kansas State (an unlikely result if the team wasn’t on board with Dixon’s leadership) before losing to eventual champion Texas.
In all probability, the university is doing its own investigation, similar to but more thorough than Johnson’s research. They’re also smart enough to do so behind the scenes. If, as expected, they find nothing of concern, the brouhaha will disappear nearly as fast as Lampkin’s career as a Horned Frog. It’s a possibility, albeit a longshot, that TCU will uncover a serious problem and proceed to cover it up… but Curmie doubts it. If there’s something there, chances are that we’ll know.
Ultimately, both Texas Tech and TCU seem to have handled their respective cases appropriately. Having just noted that two university administrations might at least possibly have done the right thing, Curmie now awaits the arrival of the remaining horsemen.
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