Friday, October 18, 1968
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
11
Jesse Owens painfully remembers 1936
MEXICO CITY (UPI)—This was a painful subject for Jesse Owens. Now the shoe was on the other foot, and it brought back bad memories.
Those memories go all the way back 32 years to Nazi Germany where Adolph Hitler stiffly turned his back and coldly refused even so much as to recognize a U.S. Olympic winner of four medals.
Jesse Owens won those medals, and the reason he got the big brush was because he was a Negro. Hitler never had any time for black men, or "Schwarze," as he sourly referred to them.
Jayhawk Jottings
By BOB KEARNEY Assistant Sports Editor
Coaching football at Kansas School for the Deaf presents unique problems—as well as distinct advantages. But whether or not the difficulties have the upper hand, Dean Porter enjoys the challenge.
"These boys want to excel to the point that they can prove to the hearing world that they can do as well in athletic competition," says Porter. "I would much rather work with them than with the hearing."
Porter, in acknowledging disadvantages with which his players must contend, says the most obvious is the quarterback's inability to call audibles at the line of scrimmage.
“There’s just no way to check-off plays except to return to the huddle,” explains Porter. “And without a pre-arranged snap, our offensive linemen will either be too slow or anticipate the snap and get off fast.”
KSD crushed Arkansas School for the Deaf in its season opener, 27-0, but the Kansans were penalized 85 yards, including many offsides and illegal motion calls.
Conversely, the deaf player is aided on defense because of his watching the ball closely on offense. Football's sleight-of-hand work rarely tricks them.
"Their eyesight seems to be more acute than that of the hearing boy," Porter notes, "and they're seldom fooled. In my four years here, nobody has successfully hidden the ball from our defense."
On a reverse play, for example, KSD players are unable to help each other by calling a warning. "But you'd almost think they're hollering the way they react so quickly," says Porter.
Patience is a must in coaching the deaf. Some things take a tremendous amount of time to explain—even such fundamentals as the straight-ahead block.
"It's natural for anyone to put their feet together to push something. To teach them that they must spread their feet to hold a block on a moving object takes a lot of time." Porter says.
"Other coaches can explain, but we have to demonstrate. However, once they grasp an idea, they've got it," he continues. "Their retention is tremendous."
The deaf sign language itself works in both a positive and negative direction for the coach. Porter can calla player to the sideline, explain a certain play, but never know for sure if he's got it right.
"You always wonder after you've sent in a play. But there's an advantage in being able to sign from the sideline," Porter explains. "Other coaches can't shout plays to their teams without my hearing them."
Dormitory life also has its "pros" and "cons" with respect to football. Many of the boys have lived together since they were six years old, which lends to strong team unity.
"By being together more, dormitory life can also build up rivalries among the boys that disrupts unity," Porter said. The competitive spirit is so intense that Porter had to break up four separate brails in a recent practice.
"But with level heads and leadership, hese boys can pull together and jell." he emphazizes.
KSD's enrollment, freshmen through seniors, is only 76. Thirty-seven of the school's 43 boys play football.
But the 50-year-old Porter finds greater satisfaction working with the deaf.
"These boys accept explanations readily," he says. "I honestly don't think I have nearly the problems of coaches at other high schools."
Assistant coach Larry Beaver, noting that KU's Jim Ryun has a slight hearing defect and Don Shanklin speaks with a stutter, jokingly adds:
"We still wouldn't mind having some "problem" athletes the caliber of those two!"
Mister Donut delivers
Having a meeting or party?
to
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John Carlos and Tommie Smith, two black sprinters on the U.S. team, have shown their disgust with what they call "White America." They picked the ideal time.
25 varieties
It was immediately after the medals were presented in the men's 200-meters Wednesday.
Owens will always remember the terrible insult, although he generally makes little of it. Now it's the other way around, though.
They were non-Ayrans—an inferior race.
Smith, with a gold medal around his neck for winning the race, and Carlos, with his bronze medal for finishing third, bowed their heads on their chests while the American flag was being raised and the National Anthem being played.
Each also raised a clenched fist with a black glove on it denoting "black power," and when that ceremony was over, Carlos went into a rambling dissertation pointing out he and Smith were proud of what they did.
Fulfilled a Promise
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"I'm very happy they got it over with," said Jesse Owens, doing commentary here for a radio network back in the U.S. "They fulfilled a promise they made to themselves before they arrived. It could've been a lot worse."
"You're not happy over what they did are you?" a newsman asked Owens.
"I am very happy they won," said the 56-year-old former sprinter and broad jumper, who at one time ranked among the foremost athletes in the world. "I would've liked seeing Carlos finishing second instead of third."
"Did you see the race and what happened afterward?" someone else asked Owens.
"What's your personal feeling about what they did?"
"I heard about it and my wife saw it on TV." he said.
"They wanted to express themselves and they did," said the man who has been called a middle-of-the-roader by some Negroes. "It's their bible."
"Not exactly," he answered slowly, deliberately. "The way I feel about it is I won't get angry at your opinion but don't get angry with me when I express mine. I may not feel exactly as those boys do, but I can understand why they feel the way they do."
"Is it also Jesse Owens
bible?"
ple begin sympathizing with the Negroes on the team.
"What about the years in between? Why don't people do something about it then? Don't sympathize with me once every four years. Give me some positive action when the Olympics aren't going on."
"Okay, why do they?"
"Progress has been made though, hasn't it? You remember those Olympics back in 1936, don't you?"
"A great majority of the U.S. Olympic team is white, and when the Olympics come around every four years, the white peo-
"Do I remember them? How can I ever forget them? You don't know how much prejudice there was against Negroes then. It was unbelievable. You don't go back to 1936, so you don't know. Being a white man, you can't know."
Jesse Owens' eyes narrowed. His inner emotions began coming to the surface and it was hard for him to convey them exactly the way he wanted. On one hand, he firmly believes in the tradition of the Olympics, and on the other he firmly believes in the excruciatingly difficult struggle of the Negro.
Not Welcome
"You can't know," he repeated. "You never tried to enter a public place and was told you weren't welcome, have you? Have you ever been terribly hungry and gone to a restaurant where they turned you away?"
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