It also points to a lack of cultural competency among too many NCAA coaches, as well as the racial imbalance in college sports, where more than half of Division I basketball and football players are Black, but 85% of their coaches are white. I wouldn’t call it racist, but an indefensible, tone-deaf choice of words for a white man who makes $900,000 per year coaching mostly Black athletes to say to a Black player. The Bolton family believed his comment was ignorant at best and a form of institutional racism at worst. After telling the NCAA about the noose comment, Bolton received a waiver to play immediately for the Cyclones and averaged 14.7 points per game in 2019-20. Iowa State’s Rasir Bolton (left) drives around Texas’ Courtney Ramey (right) at the Frank Erwin Center on Feb. Today, what Chambers said hits different. Before four Black people were found hanging from trees across the country, supposedly all suicides, in less than a month. Before NASCAR banned the Confederate flag and was immediately rocked by a noose impersonating a door pulldown in the garage of its only Black driver. Before the protests emboldened athletes at Clemson, Iowa, Oklahoma State, West Virginia and Texas State to reveal troubling racial interactions with their coaches, and encouraged Texas football players to demand a more inclusive campus culture. This happened what feels like a lifetime ago - before the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery ignited protests that shook America. “I want to loosen the noose that’s around your neck.” I need to get some of this pressure off you. Bolton recalls Chambers, who was on the hot seat due to the suspension and a 7-8 record at that point in the season, saying, “I want to be a stress reliever for you. The day after the Wisconsin game, Chambers told Bolton he knew the freshman was under a lot of pressure and wanted to help him. Bolton shot poorly against Wisconsin and finished with seven points, five assists and two turnovers. Chambers apologized and was suspended for the next game, a 19-point home loss to Wisconsin. The moment was caught on national television. Four days earlier, during a loss at Michigan, Chambers became enraged during a timeout and shoved one of his players in the chest. It was January 2019, and the team was in a troubled state. Head coach Pat Chambers called Bolton over to talk. Rasir Bolton, the freshman starting point guard for Penn State’s basketball team, was working out with the shooting machine on an off day. 21 following an investigation into inappropriate conduct that stemmed from allegations made in this story. Editor’s note: Pat Chambers resigned Oct.
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