Burwell plays the race card with Mike Anderson

I know, not a shock. But it seems to have come out of nowhere in this column. The first three-quarters of the column was solid and legitimate, then he takes a hard right turn straight into the racial aspects. Seems very out of place.

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/columns/bryan-burwell/article_30933ff5-d3a2-5217-810e-bc4868b1f19c.html

I haven't read the story comments he's referring to, but I think the large majority of Missouri fans would feel the same way about this episode if Anderson was a white coach. Maybe I'm naive.

 

A bit naive but that's ok. Burwell makes some strong points and gives those with thin skin something to think about. This is 2011 but in many respects, the attitudes of some would be welcomed in 1911.

 

1) Trolling the comments section for evidence of racism is the absolute laziest and lowest form of "research" there is in journalism. Pick a story, any story, and there will always be racism in the comments section.

2) Bryan Burwell has been in St. Louis for far too long to offer so little insight into the teams he covers. Whether it's Mizzou or the Cardinals or the Rams, he doesn't inform. In that column, there isn't one word or thought that couldn't have been written by anyone who is simply observing things from TV, radio and message boards.

 

Would be the same, whether black or white. Having grown up in St. Louis, I can speak authoratatively on this. St. Louisans turn on the heroes with the same passion they build them up, and then, as in the case of Brett Hull, welcome them back into the fold.

 

I'm curious as to what you mean by insight.

 

Something that shows some level of reporting or knowledge that I don't have sitting at my keyboard 2,000 miles away. The Alden-Anderson relationship, some indication of Bill Laurie's feelings on the matter, whether a $2M offer to Anderson means there's $2M on the table for the next coach, who that next coach might be, what it means for Anderson's recruits (particularly the Presseys, who came there because of the old man's relationship). Anything, even just an original thought on the matter, that I don't already know or haven't already come up with based on the news reports I've read.

 

There are some pretty hard feelings toward Anderson here in KC, and there are some people who are really upset with him for leaving and the way he handled it. But nothing I've seen comes anywhere close to the horrible remarks aimed at Roy Williams when he left Kansas. I seem to remember people in Lawrence burning t-shirts with Roy's face on it the night he announced he was going to North Carolina. Anderson isn't getting that kind of treatment.

My only issue with the Burwell story is that he uses chat rooms and news-story comments to make that last point. As LTL said, if you're looking to point out racism or really just pure, unchecked hatred, then chat rooms and news story comments will work for nearly any scenario, not just this one.

 

Good fair points. LTL, the days of columnists actually reporting are pretty much done. They tend to say what is on their mind. Everyone has opinions.

 

A good point in return, Drip. But I'm not look for first-level reporting. Bernie Miklasz's columns are sprinkled with observations -- prior conversations, history, sometimes just his impressions of how things work behind the scenes -- that justify the access he gets from his press pass. I don't see it out of Burwell. (Not that he is unique in this regard, he is merely the one we're discussing here.)

 

That read more like a very insightful and well-thought out column, followed by a rant.

Fans are always mad when their coach leaves for another program. It doesn't matter if he's Roy Williams, Bill Self, Mike Anderson, or anyone...

 

In this column, Burwell doesn't do that.
For whatever reason, people think that a coach is supposed to stay with a university until he either dies or retires, whichever comes first. Let's face it, there's no easy way for a coach to leave. When Roy Williams left Kansas, I was fearful that some fanatic would attempt to hurt him or his family.
What happened to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness?

 

Anyone who doesn't understand why he left is naive.

More money.
Better job.
Going to his dream job, at a school where he has a long history. He showed last year he wasn't going to take just any job when he turned Oregon down.

In this case, I don't understand why people would be so pissed.