Tommy Amaker brings some impressive credentials to his new job as coach of the Harvard basketball team. In 23 years as a player and coach, he's made 23 post-season appearances.
He also helps address a glaring problem in the Harvard athletic department: the absence of African-American coaches.
Now there's one. Better than none, still not enough.
But as the New York Times reports, Amaker does come with some question marks. Amaker was fired by Michigan on March 16 after six seasons. He restored the reputation of Michigan’s basketball program, which was reeling from N.C.A.A. sanctions when he arrived in Ann Arbor. ...But at Michigan, Amaker was sometimes viewed as being too principled to run a major college program.
What an astonishing and depressing sentence—"too principled" to coach a basketball team.
Fortunately, Harvard athletics try to balance winning with principles, and the university doesn't believe that winning is so important—or athletics, for that matter—that they're worth corrupting the soul of the university.
Welcome to Harvard, Tommy Amaker. Sounds like you'll fit right in.
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