White high school baseball coach tells Black player to turn ‘n-word music’ down

Warning: Full spelling of n-word in article.

Racism Score: 4.2

We love open and shut cases, and we thought we had one with a Kansas High School baseball coach. Dave Flood was a baseball coach at Olathe North high School in Olathe, KS. We emphasize was because Flood was recently fired.

Why might you ask? Flood has a problem with rap music. So much so, he allegedly told the only Black player on the team to turn the “nigger music” down. A shocking accusation indeed.

Tony Banks, the father of Nyle Banks (Black player) posted the following on Facebook:

At last nights game verses Olathe South, during pre-game batting practice, Nyle and another player set up his phone with speakers and was playing Rap music as the team hit balls. The head coach, Pete Flood, heard the music and came over. He looked Nyle directly in his eyes and said, “We don’t play that Nigger (the long nasty version) music over here. We only play country and rock music”.

If Nyle’s version is true, the coach’s termination was 100% justified. Should the coach be considered innocent until proven guilty? Should we believe only the player and his father? Does the coach deserve to explain his side of the story before everyone jumps to conclusions?

Yes.

Flood told KMBC 9 he did not say the word how the father portrayed the events.

“Never, never, never have I ever used the ‘N-word’ or any other racial slur to address a student, player, or person in my entire twenty-five year career in this district nor my personal life,”

He said the n-word was part of a song the team was listening too, and he repeated the word while asking the players to shut it off.

So, he admits he did say the word.

Now he knows damn well, especially in 2021, he cannot say the word, even if he is repeating the word from a song while asking the player to turn it off.

Clemson football assistant coach, Danny Pearman and TCU head coach, Gary Patterson should have been his lesson guide.

At this juncture, in his profession, one cannot simply claim ignorance under the circumstances.

Do we think Flood said it how the father explained it? Debatable. Maybe embellished, maybe not.

Nevertheless, the coach could have handled it in a better way if he genuinely did not want to hear the music. Talk to the kid’s parents or talk to the administration!

Unless you are independently wealthy and do not care about losing your job, or if you are unconcerned with the cancel ramifications, here are the Rules of engagement for white people using the n-word; do not say any version of the word, in any context, in public or private (although it is your right albeit high-risk, no-reward), unless you are willing to face the consequences.

We do not make the rules.