BY GORDON WITTENMYER
Pioneer Press
Gophers wrestling coach J Robinson has said things about race and diversity that many consider offensive, but he still has the support of the university ” and of his athletes.
J Robinson has built the University of Minnesota wrestling program into a national power.
That point cannot be argued.
But Robinson’s remarks critical of diversity and affirmative action can certainly be debated, especially because they come from a high-profile representative of a public university that strives to attract a multicultural student body.
In an interview with the Pioneer Press midway through the wrestling season, for a story intended for an offbeat item on Page 2 in the Sports section, Robinson veered off course.
“I base everything I do on one thing and one thing only, and it’s excellence, “Robinson said. “The best person for the job. I don’t believe in diversity. Why don’t I believe in diversity? We’re arguing whether we should have English or not.
“You know what my grandfather said when he came here from the old country? ‘We will speak German no more.’ What diversity does is, if you look at history, diversity divides you. You have the gays looking out for the gays, the straights looking out for the straights, the blacks looking out for the blacks, the Hmongs looking out for the Hmongs, the Somalis looking out for the Somalis.
“And language is critical. It will divide. If you can’t communicate with people, you will have nothing to do with them.”
Robinson, 59, has twice been the national wrestling coach of the year. He was inducted last June into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, and he enjoys the longest tenure of any Big Ten Conference wrestling coach. Robinson led Minnesota to a No. 1 ranking this season that held up for more than two months before Oklahoma State outscored the Gophers in the NCAA championship meet in March.
Still, he remains the most publicly opinionated, confrontational head coach at the university. When asked if such issues affect his ability to do his job, he said: “Conflict is inevitable. Combat is optional.
“Conflict is what life is about. There’s conflict everywhere. Trees are competing with the grass for water, for sunshine; conflict is not a bad thing.”
Robinson’s past comments have made him seem true to himself and his beliefs, but he is unpopular with some colleagues mainly because of his disdain for the gender-equity legislation known as Title IX. The worst penalty Robinson has received for his comments was a reprimand in 2002 for using school resources to fight Title IX. His pay was frozen at one point during the 1990s, but that was for minor recruiting violations.
One of Robinson’s biggest detractors has been Chris Voelz, the former women’s athletics director at Minnesota who is with the Women’s Sports Foundation based in New York.
“We don’t have to have academic freedom in order to do our jobs,” Voelz said, adding that coaches and administrators are employed at the pleasure of the university.
“While I think we should be open to many, many opinions, I’m not sure he’s open to many, many other opinions than his own, “she said. “Anybody who says diversity doesn’t matter probably comes from a white, male point of view. I would be surprised if the university isn’t forced to say something.”
Robinson is working under his eighth athletics director, Joel Maturi, who admitted he does not agree with everything Robinson says, including his stand on diversity and affirmative action. But Maturi said he sees no reason to take action over the comments.
“I realize what his position is, but one of the great things about this country, let alone the academic environment, is the right of free speech,” Maturi said. “And that’s what makes this campus, and again this country, what it is. If somebody else on campus feels differently, maybe I have to think differently. But as the athletics director, that’s how I think.”
WHAT HE REALLY MEANT
In other conversations about diversity and affirmative action, Robinson clarified his stance. Yes, he said, he is against affirmative action. As for diversity, he is against it as he defines it: the self-segregation of people into enclaves, often defined by common language and common culture.
In our melting-pot country, Robinson contends, we should eliminate those enclaves, force immigrants to learn English to assimilate better into society and to gain access to opportunities. That, he said, would eventually produce a fully integrated, single American culture.
“Diversity to me is segregation, “Robinson said. “That’s even a better way to put it. The way I look at it, it’s us going backward to segregation. That to me is the worst. That’s not what we want to do. What we want to do is, we want to mix everybody. We want to integrate everybody.”
While Robinson preaches cultural inclusion, it’s inclusion into his culture. Is that easier said as a white male?
“Maybe it is,” he said. “But the reality is, it’s a white-male environment. If you don’t like it, go somewhere else.
“It’s no different than if you’re in any other country. The point is, if you don’t do what that society does, you don’t get included. That’s the way the world works.”
The old Soviet Union, he reasoned, had “no problems “because everyone was a Soviet and everyone looked after the Soviets, whereas now the Serbs look after the Serbs, the Bosnians look after the Bosnians and so on. Here, Robinson said, people should not be known as Mexican-Americans, Latino-Americans or Somali-Americans.
Just Americans.
“What you’re doing is, you’re building these subclasses, “Robinson said. “You have all these subclasses looking out for themselves. That’s just the reality of it. Everybody doesn’t want to address the issue of language because it’s so politically charged. But here again, if you look at history, part of life is being able to communicate with people. And if you can’t communicate with people, you ain’t gonna go there.
“How many people vacation in Miami? There’s so much Spanish spoken there, you can’t go and can’t communicate. Why are you going to go there?”
His supporters say he’s passionate and driven primarily by a desire to make his wrestlers, his program and his sport better and stronger. His detractors say he’s arrogant and intolerant of views he disagrees with, and too often he crosses the line in discourse, at times publicly.
Baseball coach John Anderson, considered one of Robinson’s supporters in the department, says Robinson is “very passionate and outspoken about his views and is not going to back down.” But Anderson adds: “I think that’s helped him in doing his job and helping kids, but it also can be a weakness and can get him in trouble because he takes it too far.”
CULTURE OF UNREALITY
Officials in the Gophers athletics department remain sensitive to the mere appearance of intolerance, especially when it comes to race, after they were stung by perceptions that Minnesota had slighted prominent black former athletes.
Some fans thought the honor was belated this winter when the university retired the jersey of pioneering women’s basketball great Linda Roberts, considering that three other players who came after her ” all white ” already had seen their jerseys retired. And last fall, the name of Rose Bowl quarterback Sandy Stephens was misspelled on football tickets honoring his place in Gophers history, causing another stir.
The perceptions might be easier to shrug off if even one of the university’s 25 head coaches for intercollegiate sports were not white.
These issues have been viewed as symptoms of the athletics department culture, at Minnesota and other schools, by observers such as Mahmoud El-Kati, a lecturer in history at Macalester College and former professor of African-American studies at the University of Minnesota.
“They’re a culture unto themselves, “El-Kati said. “Because they’re so lionized and praised and celebrated, they don’t have to think about things ordinary citizens do.
“Most of these people (coaches and administrators) don’t think about these athletes as human beings. And not all white people (have this perception).It’s the way people are raised and conditioned and socialized to think that athletics are the center of the universe, and that is obscene for people to think that way. Athletics is the toy department of life.”
El-Kati said the university should speak to Robinson about his comments, and El-Kati suggested that the coach take a course in African-American history.
“The point is, this guy needs some history lessons about his own country, “El-Kati said. “He doesn’t understand how it evolved. I think he’s a typical educated white layperson, because he doesn’t understand the other side of the story and refuses to listen to it.
“You can’t understand this country without understanding the African-American experience. And I’m quoting George W. Bush when I say that. To a lot of people, this is not a political question. It’s a moral question. I don’t think Mr. Robinson would understand that.”
COACH BEING COACH
Robinson loves to talk about cultural issues, and he doesn’t hide that from his team. That wouldn’t be him.
Robinson often discusses and debates politics and society with his assistants and wrestlers during down time. Current and former wrestlers seemed to have no problem with Robinson’s views and said they weren’t made to feel like they were having someone else’s beliefs forced on them.
“It’s a touchy situation,” senior Matt Nagel said, “but I don’t think you want anybody who’s just going to say what people want to hear and be a pushover or a people pleaser. Obviously, if he was somebody who said everything people wanted to hear, we would never get anything we wanted.”
Robinson said an occasional parent has suggested that his opinions were too strong for them.
“Oh, probably somewhere along the ride,” Robinson said, “but there’s some parents saying some people stand for nothing. It’s like everything else. It’s like the bell-shaped curve: You’ve got 10 percent on this end and 10 percent on this. You’re going to lose them if you’re too strong and lose them if you’re not. So why not be who you are?”
Anderson said people misinterpret Robinson “to some degree, and he may bring some of it on himself.”
“But I don’t think J has been against anyone’s opportunity or denied anyone else,” Anderson said.
In fact, a survey of the 11 Big Ten wrestling rosters found that in a mostly white sport, Minnesota has the most diverse roster in the conference in terms of race, at 17.9 percent non-white, and of geography, with 28 wrestlers coming from 11 home states. Iowa’s 35 wrestlers also come from 11 states.
But Richard Lapchick, founder of the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport at the University of Central Florida, said the numbers don’t begin to tell the whole picture of diversity in Robinson’s program.
“I argue ” and this is the reason we started publishing the (annual) racial and gender report card ” that it’s not as important who is on our teams as participants as it is who has the opportunity to run our teams,” Lapchick said. “So the fact he has a diverse team represented when they go out and compete, that’s a positive, but it isn’t a test that this is a man that understands diversity. And his statements would suggest he doesn’t understand it.
“Not that he doesn’t have a right to say it, but there are consequences for actions and statements that you make. And if he’s going to feel he has a right to make those, then he’s got to know, especially after all this experience, that as a consequence there are going to be people that are upset with him and that he’s offended.”
Manuel Rivera, one of five non-white wrestlers on the team, acknowledged that a potential recruit could be dissuaded from considering Minnesota if he were to read some of Robinson’s comments without talking to him.
“But it didn’t with me,” Rivera said.
Like many other Gophers recruits, Rivera attended Robinson’s nationally known camp while he was in high school and got to know Robinson personally.
Four current and two former Gophers wrestlers said the perception of Robinson was all about his stature in the sport nationally and the strength of his program. Minnesota has won two of the past five NCAA titles and has produced 37 All-Americans since he took over in 1986-87. They heard nothing about his controversial comments from rival recruiters, they said, “other than he’s pretty outspoken,” former Gophers All-American Owen Elzen said. But Elzen said that passion helped sell him on Minnesota.
Former Iowa coach Jim Zalesky said he and other coaches might point out to a recruit how long Robinson has been coaching, hinting that retirement might not be far off, but that would be the extent of any negative recruiting. Zalesky knows Robinson well, considering he wrestled at Iowa when Robinson was an assistant there in the 1980s and later served under Robinson as a Minnesota assistant.
“I think he’s probably more outspoken (than other coaches),” Zalesky said. “Maybe he doesn’t go about the most politically correct way, but that’s just him. If he ruffles feathers, I don’t think he really cares, as long as he believes what he’s talking about.”
TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES
The one person who can say J Robinson has gone too far is university President Robert Bruininks, and he won’t. Bruininks, through an assistant, declined to comment for this story or address six questions that the Pioneer Press e-mailed to him, including, “Do Robinson’s comments deserve punishment?”
All questions were referred to Maturi, and the e-mailed questions were forwarded to him. Maturi responded to the punishment question with a paragraph that read in part:
“Although I did respond by saying that coach Robinson would not lose his job for his statements, it does not mean that I agree with or support his comments. I think it is important to understand that the university and the department of intercollegiate athletics at the University of Minnesota value diversity and have strong policies and procedures supporting these values. All employees are expected to follow our policies, which are important to us in achieving our mission/values and vision for Gopher athletics. Because of our commitment, we have made great strides in athletics, including the (recent) hiring of four African-Americans.”
Robinson has said he and his program have been treated unfairly by the university, to the point where he filed a gender discrimination complaint with the Minnesota Department of Human Rights two years ago. The complaint went nowhere, with the department finding no probable cause to support it and sticking to that decision after an appeal.
“At some point you’ve got to realize there isn’t going to be change,” Anderson said. “And you have to move on.”
But Anderson also said he thinks Robinson should not be penalized for expressing his opinions, especially considering Robinson’s long record of helping and supporting kids through his program and his camps, regardless of their backgrounds.
“I don’t think he gets enough credit for the mentoring he’s done with kids,” Anderson said. “He’s gone beyond the call of duty in my opinion in commitments to his wrestling program and to the sport itself.”
Other Gophers coaches weren’t so supportive of someone, anyone, speaking so publicly about their private beliefs. Men’s hockey coach Don Lucia, for instance, said part of a coach’s responsibility is to act as a representative of the university.
“We’re all privileged to work here, “he said. “I’m not sure sometimes that speaking out is in anybody’s best interest. I also think there’s battles that are worth fighting, and some of the battles have been decided, and it’s time to move on.”
Men’s basketball coach Don Monson wouldn’t address Robinson’s views or responsibilities specifically, but Monson said of his approach: “I feel a tremendous amount of responsibility to the University of Minnesota. That’s my commitment, and I take that very seriously.
“I worry about the basketball. I don’t worry about my personal views.”
Women’s basketball coach Pam Borton said the standard for a coach’s behavior and accountability to the school “should be consistent across the board,” regardless of the sport.
“You shouldn’t fight your battles through the media, “she said. “I think that’s not real professional, and this is the only place I’ve ever experienced that (in watching Robinson).”
Charles Samuelson, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota, said Robinson is not Bob Knight, the basketball coach fired by Indiana University.
“It wasn’t just speech with Bobby Knight, “Samuelson said. “Bobby Knight hit people and threw chairs. His actions were reviewed by appropriate authorities for a long time before anything was done. He got not three chances, not four chances, but tons of chances. You need to take a look at the whole totality of the guy.”
On the other hand, Samuelson said: “Is (Robinson) potentially a PR disaster for the University of Minnesota? Hell, yeah.”
ASK ME NO QUESTIONS
Regardless of the free-expression issues, inflammatory public comments on sensitive subjects can be damaging, Lapchick said.
“The biggest danger,” he said, “is exacerbating already difficult race relationships in our country. We are hardly home in our quest to make everybody feel comfortable with race relations in our country.”
It remains to be seen if Robinson one day will face repercussions for the things he says.
“Many people who throw salvos out, “Voelz said, “don’t make it through the whole war.”
Robinson believes the fault lies not within himself.
“The only difference between me and a lot of other people is, if someone asks me, I’ll tell them what I think, “he said. “It’s a very simple concept. If you want the truth the way I see it, ask me and I’ll tell you. If you don’t want to ask, then don’t ask me, but I’m going to say it the way I see it.”
Bob Sansevere contributed to this report. Gordon Wittenmyer can be reached at [email protected].
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