It is interesting to listen to the commentary about the coaches in this years super bowl. What do you think they have in common?
When I look at Tony Dungy I know he is the coach of the Indianapolis Colts and Lovie Smith is the coach of the Chicago Bears. Everything I have read about them is they are good Christian men, who do not shout or disrespect the athletes on their team.
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In fact, Dungy and Smith are the best of friends and wonderful people. After all, this is what all men should strive to be and they are excellent role models for all people.
Do not get me wrong, the only thing I hear from the media is that Dungy and Smith are African-American professional football coaches or black coaches. It is hilarious listening to the commentary, for example they say, "You know you are the first two black coaches to lead your teams to the super bowl."
What is wrong with this media commentary? Cocahes Dungy and Smith do not have to be reminded of their race, it is obvious what their ethnic background is. In fact, what the media should be saying is these two coaches are great leaders, intelligent, and principled God fearing men.
What is truly interesting is the fact it took until 2007 for two outstanding men such as Dungy and Smith to coach in the super bowl. What does this mean?
It means the ownership teams In Indianapolis and Chicago based their decision to hire Dungy and Smith to coach their teams based on their outstanding character, rather than color, race, or ethnicity.
So what took the Nationa Football League so long to hire based on character? After all, the National Basketball Association experienced the leadership of two coaches who happended to be African-American professional basketball coaches who coached for the NBA championship over 30 years ago.
Al Attles coached the Golden State Warriors and KC Jones coached the Boston Celtics. Why such a huge disparity of time and judgement about one's ability to coach?
Seems to me people are too hung up on race, rather than leadership ability and character. Imagine how many other leaders and character people have been overlooked because of the color of their skin, race or gender.
It is high time America begins to value character over race. Why? We are leaving too much talent on the sidelines at numerous companies and organizations. To remain viable we need all hands on deck, no matter the racial composition.
What About the Content of Your Character?
Paul Lawrence Vann is a certified professional diversity expert. He is a diversity-train-the-trainer who leads organizations to improve their bottom line through his interactive programs. Paul is the author of the book, Living on Higher Ground. You can reach Paul at (800) 476-8976, http://www.paullawrencevann.com, or paul@paullawrencevann.com.
INDIANAPOLIS
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