Maybe Rupp was, and maybe he wasn't.

 

One thing we can be fairly certain of is he wasn't interested in being a crusader. Since the excuse always was, as offered in Dick Gabriel's glossy defense piece, "the players' safety couldn't be guaranteed on SEC road trips," I would ask, why didn't UK pull out then, and go to another conference so those players' safety could be guaranteed? They weren't really benefiting much by playing SEC teams in those days, other than padding a win count.

 

I'll give him ambivalent and apathetic when presented the opportunity to do the right thing. Probably not as "virulently racist" as some of the more extreme critics have made him out to be, but at least somewhat complicit with the times he lived in. What's that quote about "the worst thing a good man can do is nothing" or something along those lines?

 

Or, "inaction is an action"

Because I'm black.

 

I knew that, but I've never in my life assumed, or did it even cross my mind that people assumed that if you were black, and lived in Kentucky you had to be a Louisville fan.

Coach Cal gets crucified for doing what many of you state that Coach Rupp did not do. Cal is bridging the color gap better than any other UK coach. Pitino played a fun style of play, which attracted better players, most of whom are black, but he did not change UK's image. He struggled to recruit in Louisville. Cal supports the players. He encourages them to do what is best for themselves financially. I think it is ironic that most of the rich white announcers, coaches, and college presidents think it is ok for 98 percent of the money to stay in the hands Of white coaches, presidents, and tv personalities. Cal tells the kids to go get paid. Most of the establishment hates him for this.

RP I'm sure you recruited as many black UK fans as possible in your time there right?? God help you if you tell me you told them about those Blue Devils to our east.

 

 

:lol:

 

At that time black Duke fans were even rarer. The jokes were endless. :lol:

Rupp wasn't racist, only the norm back then. Why didn't everything coach recruit black kids, are they all racist.

 

:lol:

 

So the norm wasn't racist? :lol: :lol:

 

I'd say most of them were racist.

Bingo. It isn't a "racist" comment, just a comment about race.

 

I disagree with Pitino's implication that the rivalry continued to be racially motivated until UK hired Tubby, and then it changed. And maybe his intent was lost in that comment, but that is the way it came across. Any origin in the rivalry that was based on race was lost a long time before Tubby was named UK's coach. Other than that, I have no objection to any of this comments here.

 

I agree with this.

 

Pitino is off in his timeline. He needed to back up to the late 1960s or early 1970s. By the mid-1970s things had changed quite a bit. Fans were not racist, not toward Louisville or any other school. What Pitino is saying is the rivalry was racially motivated until he and Tubby were at UK. Not true.

 

I realize UK and U of L didn't start scheduling games until 1984, but there was still a rivalry (for recruits and fan support if for nothing else) between the two schools long before that state mandate. Some of UK's fans, being a southern and an SEC school, probably did follow the mind set of the times in the 1950s and 1960s. But just like Alabama and other SEC schools, that all changed over time. by the 1970s, not the 1990s, it wasn't an issue imo.

^

 

I still disagree. I know black people to this day that still hate UK because of race.

^

 

I still disagree. I know black people to this day that still hate UK because of race.

 

So they are being racist because of someone else being racist?

I agree with this.

 

Pitino is off in his timeline. He needed to back up to the late 1960s or early 1970s. By the mid-1970s things had changed quite a bit. Fans were not racist, not toward Louisville or any other school. What Pitino is saying is the rivalry was racially motivated until he and Tubby were at UK. Not true.

 

I realize UK and U of L didn't start scheduling games until 1984, but there was still a rivalry (for recruits and fan support if for nothing else) between the two schools long before that state mandate. Some of UK's fans, being a southern and an SEC school, probably did follow the mind set of the times in the 1950s and 1960s. But just like Alabama and other SEC schools, that all changed over time. by the 1970s, not the 1990s, it wasn't an issue imo.

 

The "Black Birds" comments persist to this day among many fans, although much fewer than it used to be. It was very, very common in the '80s and into the '90s.

I don't know how "black" UL was when it was a private school in terms of the general student population. It most certainly did have tremendous black athletes, for example, Lenny Lyles, Butch Beard, Westley Unseld, et al. When it joined the state system, it began to be more attractive to regular black students I think. I believe this occurred around 1970 or so.

So they are being racist because of someone else being racist?

 

No. They don't like UK because of UK's past.

The "Black Birds" comments persist to this day among many fans, although much fewer than it used to be. It was very, very common in the '80s and into the '90s.

 

Instead of 'Black Birds' they are now called 'thugs'.

If you think some UK fans don't still label UL like that, you're lying to yourself. UL fans and players to this day are perceived as "line-bearded thugs." A poster made a comment on this board just like that yesterday....

If you think some UK fans don't still label UL like that, you're lying to yourself. UL fans and players to this day are perceived as "line-bearded thugs." A poster made a comment on this board just like that yesterday....

I suppose some do, however saying that race is the biggest factor in the rivalry between UK and UL is just not true. That may have been true in the 40's - 60's, however as the rivalry grew in other dimensions, and as UK became more diverse, then I can't help but to believe race became less a factor.

 

I am 45 yrs old, grew up cheering for UK and was about 16 when the rivalry renewed annually. I never thought of race as a reason to dislike UL, it just grew in me because of the natural progression of the rivalry. My dad and uncles and that generation obviously had a big influence on me as far as sports allegiance goes, but they never attributed it to race either, even though they came from a generation where racism is exponentially more present than mine. They didn't like UL at all, or anyone else who threatened UK in any way. But they never pointed to race, at least not to me.

They had a segment on this the other day, the history of the rivalry, I believe on Sportscenter. Nothing wrong about his comment. It is true.