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Joe Paterno Comments On Black Athletes Without The Controversy

[See PTI Video] Another prominent collegiate football coach has weighed in on the black athletes. In a teleconference with Big Ten coaches and the media, Paterno identified black athletes as one cause, among a list of others, for the increase in scoring. ESPN reports:

At one point, the topic of the teleconference turned to the increased scoring in the Big Ten this season. After first mentioning that improved indoor practice facilities have helped the conference recruit kids from warm-weather climates, Paterno offered a supplemental explanation.

"You have to be careful the way you say things sometimes," the Penn State coach said. "Poor [Air Force coach] Fisher DeBerry got in trouble, but the black athlete has made a big difference. They have changed the whole tempo of the game. Black athletes have just done a great job as athletes and as people in turning the game around.

Air Force Academy Football Coach Criticized For Frank Comments on Race

The voracious guardians of political-correctness crucified another harmless bystander this week when Air Force Academy Football Coach Fisher DeBerry was reprimanded by the school's Athletic Director on Wednesday in response to remarks he made regarding minority recruitment at the school. It seems that the tension over Coach DeBerry's comments have less to do with their content and more to do with the politically correct, hair-trigger hypersensitivity towards any mention of issues of race in this country. Given this hostility, can anyone discuss matters of race in the public sphere without being thrown under the bus? [SportsCenter Video]

The AP reports:

[Coach Fisher DeBerry] said Air Force needed to recruit faster players. "We were looking at things, like you don't see many minority athletes in our program," DeBerry told The Gazette of Colorado Springs.