Appearing on ABC’s ‘Nightline’, his remarks regarding African-Americans not having the ‘necessities’ to be managers in Major League Baseball showed the world how some in positions of power, think. Campanis defended that statement by saying there were very few black quarterbacks. He added that blacks couldn’t swim because they didn’t have buoyancy.
ABC’s Ted Koppel destroyed Campanis on these comments, explaining the obvious, that perhaps it was because black people had not been afforded the opportunities to manage, play quarterback or find a pool that would let them swim.
What was sad about this was Campanis was a good man. You can tell in his voice that he really meant no malice towards black people. He was just ignorant of the facts. And, ignorance is a dangerous thing.
There is no question that black people can excel in any endeavor.
Jamaica’s Alia Atkinson is an excellent example of this. She stunned the swim world by winning the 100 meter breastroke in record time (1:02.36, tying the World Record) at the Fina World Championships in 2014.
