The big Why isn’t mentioned, though. The big Why is why couldn’t these athletes maintain eligibility through standard classes? This is the question our coaches face daily in their recruitment efforts.
They couldn’t maintain eligibility on their own because we as a state and as a nation don’t teach black boys how to read.
The only accurate measure of reading proficiency across states is the NAEP score. This is the National Assessment of Educational Progress. In North Carolina, 11 percent of black males are proficient in reading in eighth grade. Coaches who want to recruit athletes able to compete and excel at the Division I level face an insurmountable statistical challenge.
Our coaches could go to RDU and fly to the highest-ranking states like New Jersey with 19 percent proficiency among black male students. Maryland has 18 percent. Still, in these high-ranking states, the numbers remain small.