Black coaches matter, he says
O’Dowd’s Richie to bring attention in Pac12 protest
It’s hard to be lonely in Las Vegas, but Lou Richie is going to give it a shot.
Richie is the boys basketball coach at Bishop O’DowdOakland. He will be pounding the pavement in Las Vegas on Thursday, Friday and Saturday at the Pac12 men’s basketball tournament in peaceful protest.
Richie’s cause: The lack of diversity in the college and high school basketball coaching ranks. The Pac12 has exactly zero men’s Black head coaches. Sixtyfour percent of the conference’s players are of color.
Richie, representing the Black Coaches Association, will greet the team buses as they arrive for games at TMobile Arena.
“You know what, I won’t be very threatening.” Richie said Tuesday. “I’ve already reached out to the local law enforcement in Las Vegas to ask what are the parameters, because I’m not trying to go to jail, and I’m definitely not trying to be shot.”
These are sensitive times, have you noticed? Richie is biracial, but “my mom told me from Day 1, when you get pulled over (by police), you will never get confused for being white, so you have to see yourself as Black.”
Notice that mom didn’t say “if.”
The Las Vegas police gave Richie some ground rules.
“They said to make sure that the verbiage is not threatening, which it’s not. It’s more for players and coaches, when they get off their buses, to see. I’m there supporting them; I’m Black and white. I’m not trying to threaten anybody, I’m not trying to demean anybody, I’m trying to be as inclusive as possible, but I do want them to know that Black head coaches matter.”
Wednesday, Richie learned that he won’t have to go it alone in Vegas. He will be joined by Denard Wilson, the boys’ coach at GrantSacramento, and maybe another coach or two.
Why such a small crew for such a big job, fighting powerful and often invisible forces to effect change?
Hey, it’s a start. During the pandemic, Richie and other coaches reformed the Black Coaches Association. The organization was active and powerful in
NFC West.
“The AFC — there’s a lot of good places over there,” Williams said, laughing. “As long as he doesn’t end up back in Seattle, I think I can deal with anything. I definitely don’t want to see him twice a year if I was back in San Francisco.”
The comments were part of a conversation in which Williams, who was asked mostly questions by Sherman, echoed much of what he said throughout his first season with the 49ers in 2020.
Williams said he was “grateful” for the 49ers, who provided a stronger culture than he experienced during his nine seasons with Washington.
“It made a world of difference to me to be in a place where I’m very comfortable,” Williams said. “With people that I’m very comfortable with.”
One of those people is head coach Kyle Shanahan, who was Williams’ offensive coordinator for his first four NFL seasons.
“He has that playcalling — knowing how to set defenses up and giving you the same look twice with two different plays,” Williams said.
“I’ve never seen anyone like it. I’ve been around some of the best. I’ve been around the game a long time. And I still haven’t seen anyone who can rival his ingame playcalling and gameplanning.”
More relevant to Williams’ freeagent decision, he said Shanahan’s offense takes full advantage of his skills.
“I’m an anomaly when it comes to being in Kyle’s system because usually guys that are
athletic are not as strong,” Williams said. “And guys that are strong are not as athletic. And the size. With me having a mixture of all three — size, strength and athleticism — it gets Kyle to the point where he can literally game plan around me in that system. … I think Kyle’s system kind of puts me on display a little bit more than a lot of the other systems.”
However, Williams, who said he expected to sign a four to fiveyear deal, also noted the obvious: Finances will be a factor.
It was notable that he spoke Tuesday, when the deadline for team to place the franchise tag on players passed. After he was acquired by the 49ers last year, Williams had it written in his contact that he couldn’t be retained with the franchise tag, which is $13.7 million for offensive linemen in 2021. Williams is expected to command a contract worth at least $20 million annually.
And, given how rare it is for elite left tackles such as Williams to reach free agency, he could inspire a bidding war if he reaches the open market. After the season, Williams said it would “interesting” to see what his “value” is in free agency.
“You definitely want to feel appreciated and valued,” Williams said Tuesday, “and get your worth.”