Arkansas: Retribution for Mistreatment

Not long ago, we addressed the racist dismissal and mistreatment of the past two Arkansas basketball coaches. And today, it seems that Arkansas is paying the price for their lack of decency and lack of humanity.

Crypt keeper athletic director, Frank Broyles, apparently believed that the righteous souls of the world would stand idly by while he enacted his devious intentions on Stan Heath. Firing a man that had achieved measurable year to year improvement and post season appearances. And had brought in some fine recruits. Broyles, a living caricature of the reconstruction era south, wanted to bring in a white coach (as his last act as athletic director) to reap the success that had been planted in the field by Heath's hard work and steady hand.

But somewhere in Broyles' formula of injustice, he forgot to compensate for the fact that the coaches he envisioned as lining up to usurp the success meant for Heath; might actually have a conscience.

In an act of unprecedented solidarity and support for a Negro coach, Texas A&M's Billy Gillespie, Kansas' Bill Self, Southern California's Tim Floyd, Memphis' John Calipari and Marquette's Tom Crean each reportedly turned the job down.

And in the ultimate act of sabotage, Creighton's Dana Altman accepted, and then vacated the position. Altman went through the charade of actually spending a day in the coaches office before, like the fabled Trojan Horse, he sprung his assault.

Altman said. "My ego was involved and I'm not sure of all of the reasons, but again, it was something today that, in my heart, wouldn't allow me to do it."

We would suggest that the something Altman felt was his conscience. Effected by righteousness and acting in the humane and just way normally reserved for the original human.

In addition to suffering the indignity of having to reopen the search, the antediluvian Broyles is being denied one of the great pleasures of his southern heritage.

Meantime, Broyles was expected to return from Augusta, Ga., where he was scheduled to attend the Masters (he is a member of Augusta National Golf Club). The Razorback Foundation's jet was scheduled to pick up Broyles later Tuesday night.

It's probably best that Broyles had to leave. Another Tiger Woods victory would certainly be more than his segregated heart could take.

As-Salaam-Alaikum, Dana Altman. Your act of sabotage in the name of civil justice earns you the respect of Shabazz.