It’s a Minority Opinion, and He’s Sticking to It

It finally came to the point Thursday where an irritated UCLA Coach Karl Dorrell walked away while we were still talking, apparently having had his fill of Page 2 -- imagine that -- and saying, “You take it, and run with it.”

I suppose I could have left him with the Last Word, but you know how that goes on Page 2, so I said something in response like, “The only one who seems to be on the run here is you.”

That brought him back, of course, and the spirited discussion continued. It had begun after the final news conference leading up to today’s Sun Bowl, Dorrell going Jay Leno with everyone by suggesting USC Coach Pete Carroll doesn’t need to go anywhere, “but Reggie Bush needs to move on to the NFL.”

Shortly after that I saw Dorrell chatting with FSN’s Michael Eaves and Matt Stevens, and if you saw someone cornered by Eaves and Stevens, wouldn’t you try to rescue him?

So here I was, thinking I was doing Dorrell a favor, asking him a ho-hum question like, “Do you think you will ever come to a point where you won’t have to prove yourself?” when out of nowhere he raises the issue of race, while also taking the opportunity to vent about the criticism he has received.

“I don’t think I will ever reach the stage where I don’t have to prove myself,” Dorrell said, “because of who I am.”

I interrupted, asking him to explain his “who I am” comment.

“Let’s be real, there’s a minority issue here,” Dorrell said, “and there is a great deal of prejudice out there.”

Now I’ve spent a lot of time in the last few years at USC and UCLA, noting the differences in the programs and even declaring myself a die-hard Trojan fan until they lose, but I don’t recall race being cited by anyone as the reason one team is more successful.

I mentioned this to Dorrell, and he wasn’t surprised that I didn’t understand, shifting the conversation to the number of minority coaches in college football and the work of minority coaches in the NFL and asking me if I had taken notice.

I told him I had, but also told him I had no idea what that had to do with his “who I am” comment and the implication that race plays a role in what is happening at USC and UCLA, or the job he’s doing.

“There’s always going to be a perception of someone and what they can do, not just in football, but in any profession,” Dorrell said. “There is a perception some might succeed, but there’s a perception others will never succeed because of who they are.”

I wanted him to be more specific, and that pretty much ended the conversation. “I don’t have the forum to get it out there the right way,” Dorrell said, before making for the door, which led to the “you take it, and run with it” exchange.

Frankly, I understand why Dorrell may be miffed, but not for the reason he gave. The Bruins went 9-2 this season, exceeding the expectations of most, and yet on Page 2 it’s Coach Dullard in command of the Frauds.

I can see where someone might think there is nothing he can do to earn respect, but is that a matter of race?

I would think it has more to do with getting under one’s skin, a Page 2 specialty, and I wonder if he knows that the Boston Parking Lot Attendant, Mr. Chuckles, the wife and Phil the Weirdo are not black. It’s equal-opportunity ripping here, and yes, Dorrell still has something to prove after the Bruins played well against USC a year ago but then fell on their face masks against Wyoming in the Las Vegas Bowl, after passing the Oklahoma test this season but then flopping against Arizona.

The UCLA sports information director, trying to make sure there were no misunderstandings, put Dorrell on the phone with me Thursday evening.

Dorrell, who apologized earlier in the day when he learned I was coming after him not because he was black, but only because he’s in over his head, said, “I’m talking about a bigger issue here, the mind-set that I have had to have in my life to get where I am.

“I will always be fighting uphill,” he said, and I agree, but because he came to UCLA with no head coaching experience and is matched against a former NFL head coach who obviously has a stockpile of magic elixir -- not because of race.

“I’m always going to have milestones to overcome,” Dorrell said, while implying I’ll never understand. I heard the same thing from Milton Bradley, although that’s where the comparisons stop. Bradley liked to say he was black, I was not, and therefore I would never understand him.

“So I should stop interviewing and writing about you?” I once asked Bradley. He agreed, but if it were that easy, Jeff Kent would be claiming today that he’s black.

*

WHEN DORRELL and I talked later Thursday night -- and you know, I like the guy, but that’s just between you and me, so it gives him one more milestone to overcome -- I said we might always disagree.

As an African American, he said, he will always struggle to reach his goals and it still might not be enough to win everyone over.

As a sports columnist, I’ll write about a young head coach learning on the job -- everything white and black, as far as I’m concerned -- basing all cheap shots on whether he goes for it on fourth and short against USC the next time, or surrenders again.

In fact I’ll go to the ends of the earth, or El Paso, to make fun of the Bruins, if it means yet another bowl loss. That’s just the kind of guy I am.

T.J. Simers can be reached at t.j.simers@latimes.com. To read previous columns by Simers, go to latimes.com/simers.