Coach Fisher DeBerry, who has been at the Air Force Academy for 23 seasons, has announced his retirement from the team today. While DeBerry spent 27 years at the Air Force Academy and compiled an impressive 169-109-1, there are only two incidents he'll be remembered for. Of course with that lead in, I'm not talking about his 35-11 record against the Army and Navy, nor his 14 Commander-in Chief trophies.

In 2004, Coach got in trouble for having a banner up in the locker room that had the phrase "I am a Christian first and last ... I am a member of Team Jesus Christ" upon it, which is a reference to Coach DeBerry's Christianity. He was also forced to scrap the traditional pre- and post-game prayers, despite the fact that Jesus never hurt anybody (unlike, say, Marcus Vick).

In 2005, Coach DeBerry got in trouble for saying that the AFA didn't have enough athletic diversity/minority athletes. He later clarified that statement with, "It just seems to be that way, that Afro-American kids can run very, very well. That doesn't mean that Caucasian kids and other descents can't run, but it's very obvious to me they run extremely well." When you look at the average makeup of an NCAA Division 1 football program and compare that to the service academies, you can see exactly what DeBerry was talking about.

Is it racist to admit your best athletes are generally black people?

Probably, but it's also the truth. Why else are people surprised when there's a top-flight white wide reciever or defensive back? Why else were people gobsmacked when white guy Jeremy Wariner won the gold medal in the 400 meters in the Olympics?

People don't enlist to serve on the football team. People enlist to serve their country, to fight and train and possibly die for the United States of America. DeBerry's problem, as is the problem at every service academy, was recruiting. Why would anyone, black or white or other, go to a place where they'll have to spend 2-4 years doing postgraduate work in Bosnia or Afghanistan, when they can go to Miami, be undisciplined criminals, and then move directly to prison or the NFL as appropriate? Very few first-class athletes are willing to accept that burden (David Robinson aside), which makes DeBerry's accomplishments that much more impressive.

Despite his accomplishments as a coach, DeBerry will only be immediately remembered for the controversy his comments caused. You're remembered less for what you did and what you tried to do than for how you are percieved (see Adolph Rupp's efforts to integrate the SEC in the early 1960's, and his scheduling UK against integrated teams in the 1950's). It's unfair, but that's the nature of the beast.

I know, it wasn't funny. It was a strangely classy and strangely passionate defense of a seemingly good man who has been unfairly railroaded to the point where he felt his time would be better spent with his children and grandchildren. I'm just trying to build up a reservoir of good karma to make up for all the bad things I say about people like Marcus "15 is the new 20" Vick.