Hey Amelia, why Now? Why so much left out?
The most recent University of Minnesota racism agenda began April 23, 2012, with the arrival of the notorious Norwood Teague as University athletic director, on a five-year contract.
It ended when he was forced to resign, August 7, for sexual harassment charges. In between, on March 25, 2013, he fired Basketball Head Coach Tubby Smith, even though UM reached the NCAA tournament’s 2nd round. Missing in the story: the well known but covered up virulent racism of Teague that the University knew about but did not stop.
His racism was well known by the current president who hired him, to the school he was hired from and in the UM community during his tenure here. The university is trying to cover that up by distracting with the sexual harassment story, but the real story is the racism.
Under the Tarnished Dome: How Notre Dame Betrayed Its Ideals for Football Glory, 1993, covers racism at Notre Dame and the University of Minnesota in the 1980s (see pp. 174-192). See also The Minneapolis Story, chapter 10, “The University of Minnesota: Burying the Truth Losing its Soul” (pp. 159-172).
The negative campaign started when he was 15-1 (recall that Tubby Smith, a hall of fame coach and player, also coached a national championship). The Star Tribune reporter, Amelia Rayno, in her stories, helped Teague carry out his Teague Doctrine to get rid of Black coaches and quarterbacks. For more details on Teague and Rayno, see my columns of April 3 and 10, 2013, March 27, 2014, and March 26, 2015, discussing the known Teague doctrine of racism and nullification at UM. As the University and Star Tribune still play the racist game, I still sometimes refer to the paper as the Johannesburg Times.
In her cover-up story about Teague in the Star Tribune, August 10, 2015, Rayno admits she spent time with Teague at bars, parties, cars, clubs, his office, his house, etc. Rayno leaves out the substance of conversations, which we know had to include discussions of Norwood Teague’s absolute disdain for African Americans in positions of responsibility and trust, whether Black coaches or Black quarterbacks. He hurt his own case when his liquored loose lips were heard talking. Teague is now another poster child for the old saying, loose lips sink ships. Loose lips also sink programs.
The University of Minnesota and the Star Tribune choose to suppress facts and truth. Working hand in hand, Norwood Teague and Amelia Rayno made it appear that a successful African American coach was under consideration for the UM when all knew that that Black coach loathed the racism of Teague and would never work for him again. The strategy was used to disarm influential University Black alumni, to keep them quiet.
In those conversations over drinks, at cocktail parties, gatherings in Norwood’s home, etc., there was often much discussion of the Negro problem within the UM athletic program. At some point people will ask UM football coach Jerry Kill about the overt racism of Norwood Teague.
Teague acted as a Caesar, ruling through deceit, pettiness, carelessness, and disrespect, details Ms. Rayno left out of her reporting. The Star Tribune and the university should be ashamed for suppressing the truth by saying “we had no idea this was happening.”
We are not concerned about the consensual rendezvous of the AD and reporter. But we are concerned about their attempt to destroy a coach, to destroy a cordial work environment, and to trash the legacy of the many great Black athletes who have served the University well for over a century.
Stay tuned.
For Ron’s hosted radio and TV show’s broadcast times, solutions papers, books, and archives, go to www.TheMinneapolisStory.com. To order his books, go to www.BeaconOnTheHillPress.com.
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Is context optional for a reporter? 15-1…great start for Tubby! Didn’t the team finish 5-11 through the Big Ten Tournament after that? Lose in the first round of the Big Tournament? Secure the SIXTH straight finish without a plus .500 finish in the Big Ten? Didn’t Dan Monson finish above .500 in the Big Ten twice during his tenure? Sure wouldn’t want to include that in an article about Tubby. (did the “mostly-white” T-Wolves fans buy a boatload of tickets when Kevin Garnett returned to Minnesota…how is that possible?)