Recently Jemele Hill of ESPN and ex-ESPN writer Jason Whitlock commented on statements made by Kansas City Running Back Larry Johnson. When discussing the topic of Larry Johnson's former coach Dick Vermeil and current Kansas City Chief Coach Herm Edwards. Former NFL receiver Chris Carter on the HBO Show, "Inside the NFL," asked Larry, "Do you think Herm Edwards, being an African-American, and you being raised, of course, by an African-American, that you see a lot of similarities in Herm that you saw in your dad that made you open up to him?"

Larry Johnson's response: "I think so. I could relate to Herman. I couldn't do that with the other coaches I had because they had not done it. You know, they haven't put those pads or they haven't been in the situation as a young black athlete and know what we had to go through.

Larry received a lot of heat about this statement from Bob Costas, Dan Marino as well harsh criticism from black sportswriters Jemele Hill and Jason Whitlock.

In summary, Jemele and Jason wrote Larry's statements off as a black kid from the suburbs looking for street cred. Attempting to brand himself as a tough but misunderstood guy and instead established himself a reputation as an immature malcontent.

Race, religion and culture are absolutely a part of society and race is integral part of all athletics. Now, I am talking about race, not racism. There is a huge differences based on race, people interact and perceive differently, including having certain stereotypes.

Racism, of course, is when one may choose to oppress, manipulate or violently oppose another based on those perceptions or realities.

The problem is whenever a person of African-American descent brings up race people get it confused with racism.

I won't get into LJ's (Larry Johnson) mind, but clearly he was talking about race. We all know Dick Vermeil's record in the NFL and especially how he deals with players. Vermeil has built a solid, impeccable reputation on his compassion for all players. A lot of Larry's issue with Vermeil stemmed from Vermeil wanting a defensive player instead of a running back with Kansas City in the 2003 draft. Vermeil didn't help the relationship when he chose to stay with black player Priest Holmes instead of the better Larry Johnson at the time.

But still the question lingers: do white coaches have a hard time relating to African American players?

Recently Quarterback Jeff Garcia had a loss of composure in the fourth quarter against the Giants that almost cost the Eagles a win. With the Eagles ahead, 21-16, Garcia scrambled for 10 yards and a first down. After sliding out of bounds, he spiked the ball in the direction of Giants linebacker Carlos Emmons and was called for a taunting penalty. Two plays later, still angry over the penalty, he forced a ball downfield to wide receiver Reggie Brown that was under thrown and easily intercepted by Giants safety Will Demps. The Giants ended up scoring on their next possession to take the lead. When Andy Reid was asked about Jeff's loss of composure he replied, "He's a redhead, man. We calmed him down, but he was upset. He's a competitive son of a gun."

One would imply from Andy Reid's statements that he understood Jeff, his behavior wasn't foreign to Reid. Andy Reid somehow related to Jeff based on something other than a player coach relationship - it extended to race.

The problem with Larry Johnson's statements is that many people, especially white people, interpreted them as Larry saying he didn't want to play for a white coach, or simply that a black coach is a better coach in the NFL. This is not what Larry was saying. All things being equal, LJ was simply stating that as a young black man a black coach will understand that experience with more clarity than a white coach. Certain things about his personality based on his experience as a black man won't turn him off, won't cause him to label him as a "bad kid" or a "thug".

This is not to say that a white coach cannot have a positive influence in a young athlete's life. I can name countless coaches who have made a significant contribution to black athletes, in addition to developing them as men. One that comes to mind is former LSU coach Dale Brown. The issue here is race and based on race we perceive things differently, carry certain stereotypes. Would it go too far to say that our tolerance level could be shorter or longer based on what race the person is? This is an honest question to ask ourselves.

I firmly disagree with Jemele Hill and Jason Whitlock and adamantly think they had it wrong on this one. But as a side note, I will say that I certainly enjoy Jemele's column, Riding Along with Jemele Hill," where she interviews sports figures while riding along in their vehicle of choice. For example, she and Buffalo Bills tailback Willis McGahee talked about ridiculous things such as, "what's more troublesome, an ex-wife or a baby momma?"

That ended up being a difficult one for Willis. Let me try to help him. A wife is entitled to half versus a baby's momma feels like she deserves half. You do the math!

Til next time, "Don't Stop the Swagger!"