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    Creighton's Greg McDermott Says He Offered to Resign After 'Plantation' Comment

    Rob Goldberg@TheRobGoldbergFeatured ColumnistMarch 4, 2021

    Creighton head coach Greg McDermott during an NCAA college basketball game against Villanova, Wednesday, March 3, 2021, in Villanova, Pa. (AP Photo/Laurence Kesterson)
    Laurence Kesterson/Associated Press

    Creighton men's basketball coach Greg McDermott offered to resign if players asked him to after he made racially insensitive remarks in a recent locker room speech. 

    "This is their team," McDermott said in an interview on 1620 The Zone's Unsportsmanlike Conduct. "... If they would have chosen to have me walk away, I would have walked away. But that is not what they wanted."

    The head coach came under fire for his post-game speech that used slavery imagery after a Feb. 27 loss to Xavier.

    "Guys, we got to stick together," McDermott told his players, per the Omaha World-Herald's Jon Nyatawa. "We need both feet in. I need everybody to stay on the plantation. I can't have anybody leave the plantation."

    McDermott has since apologized for his words:

    Coach McDermott @cucoachmac

    I’m sorry. https://t.co/tE6thM1aRc

    The coach, who is white, said he has never used the analogy before.

    Creighton's Greg McDermott Says He Offered to Resign After 'Plantation' Comment
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    Assistant coach Terrence Rencher, who is Black, said on Twitter he was "deeply hurt" by McDermott's speech:

    Terrence Rencher @TeeRench

    Our players are going through a tough time. They are my priority. #Coaches4Action https://t.co/0UZ2vEWizY

    There are also several Black players on the team.

    McDermott is in his 11th season with Creighton after taking the job in 2010, winning two regular-season titles, two conference tournament titles and five trips to the NCAA tournament in his tenure. The Blue Jays enter their final regular-season game Saturday against Butler with a 17-7 record.