Jackson group will protest Alabama's hiring of Shula

MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- The Rev. Jesse Jackson continued his criticism of Alabama's choice of Mike Shula as head football coach over Green Bay assistant Sylvester Croom and said he's planning a protest at the state Capitol.

Jackson said in a telephone interview Saturday from Chicago he wants to draw attention to Alabama's decision to choose Shula, who is white, over Croom, who is black. Croom's experience, he said, is "superior."

"They chose culture and legacy over excellence and it's insulting," he said.

Jackson noted that Croom, an All-American at Alabama who is running backs coach with the Green Bay Packers, has two more years of pro football coaching experience than Shula, but also worked 10 years as an assistant at Alabama.

A message left with Alabama athletic director Mal Moore seeking comment was not immediately returned Saturday afternoon.

Jackson said his Chicago-based Rainbow/PUSH Coalition was organizing a rally at the state Capitol for Wednesday night to address the coaching issue and other issues related to racial inequality in Alabama.

"This issue is just suggestive that the culture of racial exclusion ... is still prevalent in Alabama," he said. "It's not just in football coaches, it's in bank lending, mortgage lending, the criminal justice system."

Jackson said the decision to hire Shula showed that the state has not progressed far enough beyond its segregationist past.

He compared the university's decision to hire Shula to Gov. George C. Wallace's "stand in the schoolhouse door" on June 11, 1963, when Wallace sought to prevent two blacks from enrolling at Alabama.

"Wallace ... blocked the doors many years ago," Jackson said. "Now you got athletic departments closing the doors."

Alabama President Robert Witt and Athletic Director Mal Moore told Jackson before they hired Shula that they were considering minority candidates for the job.

Croom was interviewed along with Shula and Carolina Panthers coach Richard Williamson.