Nolan Richardson Finds New Challenge As WNBA Coach

Thumbing through his wardrobe, Nolan Richardson came across a gem: his coveted pink sports coat.

“I’ve got that one set,” the first-year WNBA coach said of when it’ll be worn again, on July 30 as part of his Tulsa Shock’s participation in Breast Health Awareness Week. The look was among his flamboyant coats of armor as the coach prepared daily to deal with racism and discrimination.

Richardson’s storied career is chronicled in “Forty Minutes of Hell” by Rus Bradburd, a book that addresses many of the inequities black coaches faced in the pre- and post-Civil Rights era. Arkansas’ 1994 NCAA men’s basketball championship should have been a culmination of Richardson’s rise from one of the poorest areas in El Paso, Texas, to the pinnacle of his profession. But he clashed with athletic director Frank Broyles, and at a 2002 news conference, he unleashed a litany of accusations, including charges of racism. Soon after, he was dismissed as Razorbacks coach.

Read the full Seattle Times story here.