Indianapolis Recorder, Indianapolis, Marion County, 25 January 2002 — Page 2

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THE INDIANAPOLIS RECORDER

FRIDAY, JANUARY 25,2002

a lot of people out here that try to degrade you and put themselves Continued from A1 above you, just because you are multitude of locations checking on homeless. Don ’ s not like that,” said different people, they pass many of Gamer, the homeless, whom they know on Robinette, formally homeless a friendly, first-name basis. himself, humbly says, “I underFred Gamer, a homeless man stand where they are coming from, originally from South Bend, speaks This gives me the opportunity to highly of Robinette. give back what was so freely given “Don has helped me out quite a to me.” bit. He has helped me more by When asked what drives her to being a true friend to me. You have be so dedicated to helping the

homeless, Thomas replied, “You get out there and you see that resource wise, these people don’t have anything, but as far a personality, they are some of the richest people you ’ 11 ever meet. That alone drives (me) to try and get these people in a good situation.” I In part 2, a look at how HIP provides medical care to hundreds of homeless people a week.

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City of anaf Bart Peterson, Mayor

was named head coach for the Pacers on July 20, 2000, replacing Indiana NBA legend Larry Bird. Although Thomas is not a native Hoosier, he played for Indiana University under then coach Bob Knight and won a NCAA champi-

onship in 1981.

Two days after IU fired Knight, assistant coach Davis was named head coach. Davis, who was selected as the national coach of the year by the Charlotte Observer, had been an assistant coach for the Hoosiers for three years. The Recorder recently caught up with Floyd Keith, executive director of the Black Coaches Association, to get his thoughts on what Dungy’s hiring means for not only football fans, but the greater Afri-can-American community. Why does the appointment of Tony Dungy in relationship to what’s happened at IU, Notre Dame and the Pacers (all teams now have Black head coaches) mark a significant moment in history for Black coaches? “What this shows is just what can happen when the hiring process is open, fair and inclusive. Things like this just don’t happen by chance, they happen through an inclusive, objective hiring process. Hopefully this will further open the window of opportunity for more Blacks to get into coaching. All of these men are extremely qualified and talented, they just happen to be Black and this is their time to shine and show that we can succeed if given the opportunity.

along that is not only a pioneer, but embodies qualities that shine not just within the confines of sports. The Colts announced earlier in the week the hiring of former Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coachTony Dungy. Dungy becomes the first African-American head coach in the history of the Colts organisation. Amid speculation of at least four other viable candidates, Colts president Jim Irsay said Dungy was his top candidate from the time he was released by the Bucs over two weeks ago. ‘Tony was, by far, the best candidate out there. It’s a great day for Indianapolis, and for all Colts football fans. Anyone who has followed his career knows he is a winner, more than just with football, but as a man in the game of life,” said Irsay, following the announcement of Dungy’s hiring. “I think it was kind of an interesting aspect to it, that negotiations were really done, concluded yesterday (Monday) on Martin Luther King Day,” Irsay said. Dungy will inherit the secondranked offense in the National Football League. That's the good news. On the flip side Dungy will inherit one of the poorest defenses in the league (ranked 29 ,h ).. Known around the League as a defensive guru. Dungy’s job ap-

COACHES Continued from A1 Please walk Recorder readers through the hiring process for professional and collegiate coaches. Are they the same, and if not, how are they different? First off they are completely different. On the collegiate level, usually an athletic director, a committee and the university or college president (all of whom are appointed and accountable to somebody) make the hiring decisions for coaching staff. In the pros, the owner strictly makes the decision. Now when we talk about Black coaches, it’s an interesting thing because one would think that since the collegiate level has more of a seemingly more (democratic hiring set up) with its many different view points in the hiring process there would be more Black coaches than there are, however that’s not the case. More ground has been made having Blacks as professional coaches than those on the college level. It’s an interesting dynamic and irony. What was it about Tony Dungy that appealed to Colts owner J im

Irsay?

Well, they were looking for someone who had strong defensive expertise and a personality that would fit into the organization well, in addition to someone who had proven experience. Tony was all of those things. But more importantly, Tony has the kind of reputation in the industry that you don’t find very often DUNGY Continued from A1 pears to be rebuilding the defense. If he can accomplish this monumental task, the Colts should resume the posture of a Super Bowl contender in the AFC. According to Irsay, this is the goal. And it appears, he was willing to put his money where his qtouth it. , , . “(Dungy’s contract) is a fiveyear deal in the $ 13 million range. It puts him in the upper tier of head coaches in the National Football League. But he deserves to be there,” said Irsay. “He obviously did a great job in Tampa. We had stiff competition with Carolina. It was a bit of a bidding war. But we came out on top,” added Irsay. ‘Tony is a proven winner. He is an ideal leader. He’s the type of person I wanted to represent the horseshoe.” Dungy, 46, joins the Colts after being the most successful head coach in the history of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He coached them from 1996-2001, compiling a 5442 regular season record and leading them to the playoffs in four out of six seasons. In 1997, after guiding the Buccaneers to a 10-6 record and a wildcard playoff victory over the Detroit Lions, Dungy was named Professional Coach of the Year by the Maxwell Football Club.

— I would dare say that no one in the industry has one bad comment about him. He is respected and well liked and it doesn’t get any better than that. What do you think he (Tony Dungy) will bring to the Colts? If he is able to realize his true potential and truly be himself, I think he will get them into the playoffs and in line for other championships, however you need not only have a good coach, but good players as well. The two work hand in hand. He can’t do it alone. On the bottom line, what should people know about Tony Dungy? People should know that he is more than just a football coach. There is more to him than just that and when he comes here the community is getting someone who has a track record of being involved in the community. Just to give you an example, he was at one time a part of a car pool that took kids to school. He’s hands on in that way. And I am looking forward to some of the things he will do in this community. Any additional comments? I feel very good about what is going on with Black coaching here in Indiana. It is special that this also coincides with the Black Coaches Association’s arrival to the area. It kind of makes me wonder if we had anything to do with this (he laughs). One can only wonder I guess.

Under his leadership, the Bucs won the NFC Central in 1999, their first division championship in 18 seasons. How has Dungy spelled success? How about D-E-F-E-N-S-E. Dungy’s defenses with the Buccaneers ranked no lower than 11 th in his six seasons, and the Bucs defense improved from 27 ,h in the league to 11"’ in his first year as head coach. His defenses ranked no lower than 6 Ul in four of his five seasons. He was a defensive coordinator with the Minnesota Vikings for four years. In his second year, the Vikings led the NFL in total defense. Dungy began his coaching career with the Pittsburgh Steelers (1981-1988). A quarterback as a collegian at the University of Minnesota, Dungy returned as an assistant coach in 1980. Dungy, originally from Jackson, Mich., played professionally with the Steelers in 1977. He was converted from quarterback to defensive back and intercepted three passes in 14 games. As a player, Dungy earned a Super Bowl ring while playing for the Steelers. He also played for the San Francisco49ers and New York Giants.

FIRST ANNUAL

Study sees Iowa jailing most Blacks in nation

Mayor’s Celebration of Diversity Award Luncheon Join Mayor Bart Peterson as he recognizes businesses and organizations that embrace and celebrate diversity, making our community a better place to live, work and raise a family.

-Monday, January 28, 2002Ham. Registration -11:30am. Lunch -The Westin Hold, 50 S. Capitol Ave. -For ticket or table informationWBReJndygov.org/rmiyor -or- (317) 327-3601

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — vision, such as parole or probation, structures, learning and behavioral Twenty-four percent of the state’s Vilsack said he was pleased the disorders, gang affiliation, teen prison inmates are Black — the report looked beyond the criminal pregnancies and drug abuse, highest rate among states in the justice system and raised systemic “These categories impact a nation — while Blacks comprise issues that force minorities into the student’s willingness and ability to only 2 percent of the general popu- system. perform in school,” the study said, lation, according to a task force “If we’re going to break this In addition, Black children in report released this week. vicious cycle, it’s got to start with Iowa experienced shorter gestaThe report recommends the youngest people,” he said, tional periods and lower birth strengthening early education pro- “There are inherent problems within weights that white infants. The grams in the inner city, increasing the inner city.” Black infant mortality rate in Iowa the number of minority teachers The governor warned that for is four times that of white infants, and expanding health care pro- many inner city children, prison is the study found, grams, particularly for children, simply an accepted way of life, and The study also noted that while “The impact of dramatically the state must intervene to break the state’s overall unemployment high incarceration rates among that cycle. rate hovers around 2.6 percent, but African Americans has a devastat- “Many of these young people the rate for Blacks in Iowa is 10.5 ing effect on out children, break- are also accepting the inevitability percent. The overall jobless rate ing the bonds of many families and of prison as a predestined stage in for youths in the formative years of decimating the social fabric of com- life,” the governor said. 16 to 19 is 7.5 percent, but Black munities across the state,” Gov. He said a long list of studies youngsters face a 39.9 percent jobTom Vilsack said. have shown that children in pov- less rate, the study found. Vilsack appointed the task force erty who are denied health care at a Vilsack warned that the incarin 1999. Its two-year study was young age are far more likely to end ceration rate has ripple affects aimed at exploring the incarcera- up in a life of crime. through Black society, because tion rate of Blacks in Iowa. “Raising children is the job of those sent way for lengthy prison It found that 3 percent of the parents, not government,” Vilsack terms return to the community to state's Black population is in said. “But Iowa must do more to find families shattered and their prison, compared to 0.2 percent of help at-risk youth succeed.” ties to the community broken, the white population. Another 7 The study found that Black launching a downward spiral into a percent of the Black population is youngsters were in the highest risk life of crime, under some form of judicial super- categories for weakened family