[shemp]

BDY, Thanks for the answer. I think I'm getting the picture.

1. Notre Dame hired a minority for good publicity, hoping it would help recruit blacks, and generally because affirmative action is part of the white man's burden.

2. Those people who hired him told us that they hired the best man available, and that race had nothing to do with the supremely qualified person-- but many ND fans knew differently, and crossed their fingers and held their breath.

3. Turned out the coach was lazy and stupid (in addition to being unqualified) and after he went 10-3, he was still on probation. The next two years saw mediocrity descend on Irish football, and given that the guy at the helm was stupid and lazy, there wasn't much point in giving him any slack because someone else's kids were in the upper classes.

4. Now, the people who hired him because he was black (but told us they did not), fired him entirely because he underperformed in a job he was not qualified to have. A tragedy of affirmative action, and at the same time, perhaps ironically, race had nothing to do with it, not the culture he was working in, not the guarded reception he was given, the harsh judgment of stupid and lazy, or the skepticism with which his success was viewed-- race had absolutely nothing to do with it.

I'm willing to believe that ND is just tough on coaches, and they have reason to expect better performance than they've gotten-- but I think you might see how someone could get the wrong idea.