Barkley believes race a factor in Auburn’s hire

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/news?slug=ap-auburn-barkley&prov...&type=l

Barkley believes race a factor in Auburn’s hire
By JOHN ZENOR, AP Sports Writer

AUBURN, Ala. (AP)—Charles Barkley was pulling for Auburn to hire
Turner Gill as football coach long before Gene Chizik emerged publicly
as a candidate for the job.

Barkley’s take on why his alma mater hired Chizik instead: Gill is a
black coach, Chizik is white.

“I believe race had a factor. Of course I do,” Barkley, a former
Auburn and NBA star, said Monday in a phone interview with The
Associated Press hours after Chizik was introduced. “First of all you
can’t compare these two, their records. That’s not even close to being
fair.

“I look at things from a commonsense standpoint, how do you interview
Turner Gill and pick Gene Chizik over Turner Gill?”

Athletic director Jay Jacobs denied that race was a factor, saying he
picked “the best fit for Auburn.”

Chizik took over a difficult rebuilding project at Iowa State and went
5-19 in his first two seasons as a head coach after successful turns
as defensive coordinator at Auburn and Texas.

Gill led Buffalo to a Mid-American Conference championship this
season. The program was 10-69 in its first seven seasons in the MAC
before Gill took over in 2006.

He was among the early candidates Auburn interviewed for the job.
Chizik interviewed last Thursday and was hired two days later.

“I was really pulling for Turner Gill when the job first opened,” said
Barkley, who doesn’t know Gill personally. “I went on a couple of
(radio) shows in Alabama. I just can’t believe they picked this guy
over Turner Gill. I’m just in shock.”

Then, Barkley said the decision “doesn’t surprise me at all.”

He said he agreed to serve on Auburn’s search committee to hire a
basketball coach before the 2004-05 season on the condition the school
hire a black candidate. He pitched Mike Davis, Mike Anderson and Jeff
Capel as worthy candidates, and says now all three wanted the job.
Auburn hired Jeff Lebo.

“They said, ‘We’re ready to hire a black coach,”’ Barkley said. “I
figured out right away they were not going to hire a black coach.”

He said he went public with his complaints.

“They kicked me off the committee the next day,” he said. “I have kept
the secret about that for quite awhile. Clearly it’s got something to
do with race.”

Translation: Charles DARK-ley wanted a 'brutha' hired regardless if
he was the most qualified or not.



>http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/news?slug=ap-auburn-barkley&prov=ap&type=lgns
>
>Barkley believes race a factor in Auburn’s hire
>By JOHN ZENOR, AP Sports Writer
>
>AUBURN, Ala. (AP)—Charles Barkley was pulling for Auburn to hire
>Turner Gill as football coach long before Gene Chizik emerged publicly
>as a candidate for the job.
>
>Barkley’s take on why his alma mater hired Chizik instead: Gill is a
>black coach, Chizik is white.
>
>“I believe race had a factor. Of course I do,” Barkley, a former
>Auburn and NBA star, said Monday in a phone interview with The
>Associated Press hours after Chizik was introduced. “First of all you
>can’t compare these two, their records. That’s not even close to being
>fair.
>
>“I look at things from a commonsense standpoint, how do you interview
>Turner Gill and pick Gene Chizik over Turner Gill?”
>
>Athletic director Jay Jacobs denied that race was a factor, saying he
>picked “the best fit for Auburn.”
>
>Chizik took over a difficult rebuilding project at Iowa State and went
>5-19 in his first two seasons as a head coach after successful turns
>as defensive coordinator at Auburn and Texas.
>
>Gill led Buffalo to a Mid-American Conference championship this
>season. The program was 10-69 in its first seven seasons in the MAC
>before Gill took over in 2006.
>
>He was among the early candidates Auburn interviewed for the job.
>Chizik interviewed last Thursday and was hired two days later.
>
>“I was really pulling for Turner Gill when the job first opened,” said
>Barkley, who doesn’t know Gill personally. “I went on a couple of
>(radio) shows in Alabama. I just can’t believe they picked this guy
>over Turner Gill. I’m just in shock.”
>
>Then, Barkley said the decision “doesn’t surprise me at all.”
>
>He said he agreed to serve on Auburn’s search committee to hire a
>basketball coach before the 2004-05 season on the condition the school
>hire a black candidate. He pitched Mike Davis, Mike Anderson and Jeff
>Capel as worthy candidates, and says now all three wanted the job.
>Auburn hired Jeff Lebo.
>
>“They said, ‘We’re ready to hire a black coach,”’ Barkley said. “I
>figured out right away they were not going to hire a black coach.”
>
>He said he went public with his complaints.
>
>“They kicked me off the committee the next day,” he said. “I have kept
>the secret about that for quite awhile. Clearly it’s got something to
>do with race.”