The Creighton men's basketball team was in the spotlight Wednesday night, losing 72-60 at Villanova in a nationally televised contest. The looming backstory mentioned during the FS1 telecast referred to comments veteran coach Greg McDermott made after a loss at Xavier when he urged his players 'need to stay on the plantation'. Drive-by: Doesn't the PGA Tour hold a tournament somewhere in Hawaii just after New Year's on the 'Plantation Course'? McDermott has publicly apologized for the statement and offered his resignation, his players asked him to stay. Since he arrived at the Jesuit-run Omaha-based university in 2010, McDermott has spearheaded success on the court as the school received an invitation to join the Big East Conference in 2013. Predictably, the media has jumped against the 56-year old McDermott in the past 24 hours. Shalise Manza Young, the most woke journalist in sports and perhaps anywhere else, lumped the McDermott story along with others to point out continued systemic issues in collegiate sports. Deadspin penned two articles, one titled the 'Greg McDermott's of the world continue to hold society back' the other that Creighton University has failed every Black player or coach who has served under McDermott. The second Deadspin article made reference to Creighton's Mission Statement being propaganda. Most universities and corporations have mission statements that would not condone the statement McDermott said and has owned up to.
The Big East Conference has championed a diversity platform even more so than most schools and conferences in the past year, a BLM patch adorns the uniforms of all players - no one ignores the gravity of the situation.
In the end, 11 years of achievements on and off the court for McDermott mean nothing. One questionable and borderline comment and the media will not be content until his head is on a platter. Even if McDermott survives, this unfortunately becomes front and center in his legacy.
UPDATE: Creighton University announces Thursday night McDermott has been suspended from all team activities, and will not coach the team in its regular season finale against Butler. Further sanctions remain on the table, and McDermott's status for the Big East and NCAA tournaments is unknown.
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