Former Iowa assistant, current Tennessee head coach and eternal Illinois tormentor Bruce Pearl apologized today for making a joke associating rural Tennessee with the Ku Klux Klan.
The joke, which is not funny on any level, was couched in a monologue about trying to get student-athletes from different backgrounds to function as a team.
Set up and punchline: "I've got guys from Chicago, Detroit ... I'm talking about the 'hood! And I've got guys from Grainger County, where they wear the hood.''
(Offending sentiment aside, can you hear any Division I head basketball coach saying "I'm talking about the 'hood!"? Coach K? Bo Ryan? Billy Donovan? Anyone?)
This was said in front of cameras owned by a Knoxville TV station. The TV station used the footage for their newscast later in the day. I wonder if he thought that through.
Also of note, Pearl made the joke at a charity event. Charity events, which give things to people in need, often are structured to make the givers and sponsors look good in the public eye. Within his apology address, Pearl said this: "In no way am I trying to justify what I said, but I'm disappointed that the focus has been placed on me rather than the charities I was there to help."
He's the one that's disappointed?
Saturday, September 26, 2009
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Bruce Pearl is a total douche. I also read that he doesn't actually have any current players from Detroit or Chicago. So the whole set-up for the joke was a reach and that is really not cool.
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