Air Force's DeBerry reprimanded

DENVER -- Air Force coach Fisher DeBerry was reprimanded but not fired by the academy's new supertintendent Wednesday for statements he made about black athletes and recruiting.

The 67-year-old coach met with Lt. Gen. John Regni and then issued an apology at a news conference.

The Falcons are 3-5 this year.

"I realize the things I said might have been hurtful to many people and I want everyone to understand that I never intended to offend anyone," DeBerry said.

On Tuesday, in discussing last weekend's 48-10 loss to TCU, DeBerry said it was clear TCU "had a lot more Afro-American players than we did and they ran a lot faster than we did."

"It just seems to me to be that way," he said. "Afro-American kids can run very well. That doesn't mean that Caucasian kids and other descents can't run, but it's very obvious to me that they run extremely well."

-- AP