Observers of minority hiring trends in collegiate and professional sports say Evans’ example could lead to more minorities holding top positions in athletic departments.
“My hope is that other major programs take note of Damon’s success,” says Peter Roby, director of the Center for Sport in Society at Northeastern University. “Despite his age, he is very well qualified. It’s clear he got that job because he’s qualified, not because he’s Black.”
While Evans realizes that his age and race may be an issue for some, but he prefers not to dwell on it.
“I don’t like to look at things from a race perspective, but I also know that they’re there,” he says. “I think it’s an issue because there was never a [Black athletic director in the SEC] before. There are probably issues there because there aren’t many African-American ADs in the country. What I want to be able to do is set an example for minorities, young people and just people in general who want to achieve things in life. My thing to everyone is, ‘Don’t let race and age dictate what you end up doing.’ You can surpass a lot of things when people tell you, ‘You can’t.’”
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