In many ways, it is frightening to consider how far off the mark Mississippi State football coach Mike Leach is regarding substantive racial matters. All evidence points to Leach not having any compassion regarding the victims of Mississippi’s storied history of racial conflict. Trust me when I say that I am being kind in my assessment of Leach. A more accurate depiction of my feelings would be to term the first-year head coach as an irredeemable dim-witted historically illiterate scrap of humanity that should never be provided the privilege to lead any group of men. Let me explain my dour view of the old ball coach.

Days ago, Mike Leach took to Twitter and posted a tweet of a woman knitting a noose for her husband during this moment of self-quarantining; I would be remiss if I did not share that the alluded to tweet was “liked” by nearly 3,700 people. The message flowing from both the sharing and liking of the tweet is deafening.

Consider the fact that Mike Leach is heading a football program in a state whose political leaders and bigoted citizens resisted efforts for racial equality by any means necessary; efforts that continue to this moment. Let us not forget that Mississippi is the location where Emmett Louis Till, a mere child, was brutally killed by bigoted Whites and Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee activists Andrew Goodman, James Chaney, Mickey Schwerner disappeared on the initial day of their attempt to register Black voters during Freedom Summer at the hand of the same population.

This space is incapable of holding the untold tragedies that have befallen Blacks in this sanctuary of White bigotry and institutionalized racism. When viewed against this scurrilous background, it is understandable why Mike Leach was selected to lead Mississippi State’s football program. Unfortunately, it appears that Mike Leach’s illiteracy on racial matters makes him a perfect fit for such a prominent position; a position that calls for him to lead droves of young African-American men.

Unbeknownst to Whites, it is the moments after such a transgression that shapes their view of individuals such as Mississippi State Athletic Director John Cohen and institutions such as Mississippi State University. Before passing judgment regarding this matter, Black America always awaits a response to the inexcusable behavior from the powers that be. It is to be expected that Blacks will be invariably disappointed with the decision-making processes of White powerbrokers. The case of Mike Leach is no different.

The punishment being doled out to Mike Leach for his ill-advised tweet is for him to “expand his cultural awareness of Mississippi.” According to Athletic Director John Cohen, Mississippi State University is “disappointed” in Leach and will host “listening sessions” for the embattled coach and visits to the Museum of Mississippi History as well as the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum once the Coronavirus has subsided. In light of such “punishment”, one must excuse Black Mississippian’s bemused look and belief that this is little more than “White folk being White folk.”

This world is filled with Mike Leach’s, meaning people raised within a cultural framework where racial bigotry is a foundational principle that never threatens their educational pursuits, economic opportunities, or social status. They are welcomed with open-arms by like-minded neighbors, bosses, civic organizations, and religious leaders. Ironically, it is fair-minded Whites who learn early on that they must stash away personal convictions regarding racial bias as it will lead to a pariah status among their beloved community. I am sure that such people cringe at the reality that their silence regarding racial bigotry not only makes them complicit with such matters but also renders them indistinguishable from figures such as Mike Leach. I have little doubt that this little dust-up will be long forgotten by the good folk of Mississippi when they pile into the stadium to support the Mississippi State University and cheer for Coach Mike Leach, their neighbor, friend, and favorite football coach.

They are Mississippians after all.

 Dr. James Thomas Jones III

© Manhood, Race, and Culture 2020.

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