COACHES' CHALLENGE
Hurdles remain for coaches, who `just want to be respected'
Being a Black prep football head coach presents unique obstacles, but Millwood's Darwin Franklin says they `just want to be respected'
Darwin Franklin doesn't understand the lingo.
Millwood's football coach has led one of the state's most successful high school programs over the past decade. The Falcons have won two state titles and been a perennial playoff contender.
Yet, Franklin and his staff hardly get any credit.
“It's disparaging,” Franklin said. “Black kids can just be athletic, and it has nothing to do with coaching. But you turn around and you hear for white schools or white head coaches, they're so well coached.
“So it makes it seem as if our kids aren't as just well coached as other kids.”
Millwood, a northeast Oklahoma City school with a student body that's 90% Black, has produced a ton of Division- I players, too. Marcus Major. Israel Antwine. Demariyon Houston. But the football coaches who developed them and many others aren't often credited by anyone outside Millwood.
Black high school football coaches are coaching the same game on Friday as their counterparts, but they deal with different circumstances. Even as the number of Black head coaches in the state rise — of the 32 coaches in Class 6A, six are black, with four hired the past two years — many hurdles remain. At a time racial inequality is being discussed as much in this country as ever, Black high school football coaches are facing their own kind of racial inequality.
So, what is it like to be a Black head football coach in
Oklahoma?
Those coaches say they deal with constant questions from the outside.
Do they really know the game?
Isn't it the players making the plays?
Could their schemes really be that good?
It can be harder to find a job, too, no matter the previous experience or accolades. And if you aren't successful, second chances rarely come.
Black coaches at smaller schools have dealt with blatant racism at away games, and while not a prevalent issue, officials can be challenging, too.
“As a Black head coach, I have to conduct myself in the moment,” Midwest City coach Darrell Hall said. “We've got to sometimes be the bigger person because ( officials) are waiting for a reaction.”
Black head coaches have had no shortage of success in Oklahoma, and more are getting into the profession.
Hall won state titles at Tulsa Washington and Star Spencer and has Midwest City in state title contention this season. Willis Alexander, who is at Mount St. Mary, won his 100th game earlier this year. Rashaun Woods, the former Oklahoma State standout, won a state title at John Marshall in 2017 and is in his second season at Enid.
Two of the Black coaches in Class 6A are in the Moore district, with Josh Norman at Southmoore and Lorenzo Williams at Westmoore. Norman, a former starter at OU, is in his first season with the district while Williams is in year No. 5.
Williams said he remembers how some of his players reacted when they met him after he was hired.
“Some of the Black kids were looking at me like, ` Where the hell did you come from?'” Williams said.
Williams was an honorable mention All-State defensive lineman his senior year at Midwest City and played at Missouri from 2003-07. He coached four years at Central High School in Springfield, Mo., including two as head coach, before taking the Westmoore job.
Brian Fitzgerald, Moore's district athletic director, said having coaches like Norman and Williams lead his programs is special. They were no- brainer hires when the resumes came across his desk, not only for their accomplishments but also for how they could prepare student-athletes for the future while winning football games.
For Norman, he was just thankful to have the chance.
Time and time again, Black coaches, when given a head coaching job, aren't truly given the opportunity. The opportunity to build camaraderie. The opportunity to grow the program's brand. The opportunity to construct a dynamic staff.
If he fails, he knows it could be tough to get another head- coaching job.
When Norman was young, his father once told him that if he wanted the same chances as his white counterparts, he had to be better than them. If he wanted better, he had to be exceptionally better than them.
“I'm extremely fortunate to have the career
I've had as a coach,” said Norman, who was an assistant at John Marshall last season. “But I can speak for not just myself, just for other coaches that I know in the profession, one, that they don't get the opportunity as a head coach, but two, not to get the opportunity to build as a head coach, as well.”
In addition to getting a chance, there remain other obstacles.
One of those officiating.
Every coach deals with officiating issues. Most of it pertains to disagreements about a call or where a ball was spotted.
Yet, Black coaches say they've also dealt with racist incidents involving is
officials. Although the situation has drastically improved over time, tense moments still occur and take away from what Friday night football is really about.
Black coaches say they're often held to a higher standard by officials. Raising their voices at all could result in an automatic penalty. Some officials are dismissive, ignoring Black coaches when they ask questions or even telling them they aren't getting an obvious call because a player is “too good” and should've made a play even with the infraction committed against them.
Norman had to sit down with his assistants earlier this season to apologize for how his team would be officiated. Hall has to tell new assistants, who are used to getting calls at their old schools, that they won't be getting the benefit of the doubt at Midwest City.
Situations often escalate out of nowhere, making Black coaches focus on something other than coaching their players.
Outside of officiating, opposing fans and players sometimes demonstrate the prejudice and racism still existent throughout America.
Millwood, which is in Class 2A, travels to smaller communities to play games. The Falcons have heard racial slurs too often. Franklin says they've been called monkey and coon and even much worse.
“You have to ask what's going on here sometimes,” Franklin said.
Franklin and other Black coaches say situations like that are not common but still occur.
It's another example of what Black head coaches deal with.
Being a Black head football coach presents unique challenges. In an ever changing social landscape, more Black coaches are getting involved and opportunities are slowly opening up.
Obstacles remain, but at the end of the day, the end goal is simple.
“We just want to be respected,” Franklin said.