Hubert Davis made history this week as the first Black head coach of the University of North Carolina's men's basketball program. To make the hire official, Davis attended a press conference hosted by the university on Tuesday. During the event, Davis was asked about the importance of being the first Black coach of the university's most prominent athletic team. He was also asked if he had an opportunity to speak to Charlie Scott, the first Black scholarship basketball player at the university.
"I have not and, before I came down here, I had a note on my desk saying that he called. And I'm so looking forward to giving him a call and having a conversation with him. It is significant, Steve. It's significant that I'm African-American and I'm the head coach here. It's significant. I know that, in terms of division one head coaches all around the country, only 26 percent of the head coaches for division one men's basketball are compromised by minorities, specifically African-Americans," Davis told a group of reporters.
As Davis went on, he took a left turn. Instead of discussing the intersections of race and leadership in sports, he began talking about his kids and his wife, Leslie Davis.
"I know that it is significant that I'm the fourth African-American head coach in any sport in the history of the University of North Carolina. I'm very proud to be African-American, but I'm also very proud that my wife is white. And I'm very proud that my three beautiful, unbelievable kids are a combination of both of us," he added.
Shortly after the press conference ended, clips of Davis' answer made their way on social media. To put it plainly, many were confused as to why Davis even mentioned that his wife was white in the first place. Nevertheless, Twitter had fun with it like Twitter always does.
Davis will take this time to regroup and prepare for the team's upcoming season. The Tar Heels will kick off their 2021-2022 campaign this fall.
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