Jon Embree, I'll Miss You

Boulder, Colorado is white bread. Having grown up in various areas in the southern United States, and having been a minority in my high school, I feel comfortable with "people of color." I'm not sure of the exact demographics of Boulder, the city or the county, but I can tell you that the majority of people living here are white. (I saw a young black man sitting in the back of the bus the other day and felt that I had to join him - it felt like I was in Alabama in the early 1960s...) In any event, Bill McCartney, who was the head football coach at CU from 1982 through 1994, has stated that he feels that a part of the reason that Jon Embree was fired from his job on Monday was due to racism. (McCartney is white, like me.) Hmmmm. If Bill McCartney sees the firing of Jon Embree as racism, shouldn't all people interested in civil rights and job equality - especially the liberals here in Boulder - take note of that?

  I like Jon Embree. He's a nice guy. He wears his heart on his sleeve - if he is happy, everyone around him knows it; if he's sad, he cries, and everyone knows it; if he's angry, he yells, and everyone knows it. I have yet to hear one bad word about Coach Embree from the young men that he coached here in Boulder. I have yet to hear a bad word about Embree from the other football coaches at CU, either. That really makes me wonder... I, personally, am dismayed and disgusted with the decision to fire Jon Embree - but I'm just a citizen who likes watching football....

  My only question is: What is going to become of the CU football program? Since I live here, I'll continue to support the players - I'm just not satisfied with those who make the decisions about the hiring and firing of head football coaches.

Jon Embree encouraging his players on the football field

 

Former head coach Bill McCartney believes racism is a part of Embree's firing

 

Embree, in his exit interview, in tears