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JUNE 25, 2001

The President of Montana State University is apologizing for "insensitive" comments basketball coach Mick Durham made to the New York Times about Indian athletes.

"Those comments do not reflect my attitudes or perceptions or those of the administration at Montana State University, nor do they mirror the experience of American Indian students on this campus," wrote Geoffrey Gamble in a letter to the editor, published on Saturday.

In a June 17 article published by the NYT, Durham made a number of comments which have been seen as racist. "Have you ever been on a reservation?" Durham was quoted as saying. "There's hardly any green grass. They park right in front of their front door. That's always amazed me. There's no self-pride in having a nice house and taking care of it. They don't care if they have five cars broken down, sitting in the yard."

Durham, the men's basketball coach, on Friday released a statement apologizing for his statements.

Get the Story:
Montana State basketball coach apologizes about comments about Indian athletes (AP 6/23)
Letter: Indian Athletes (Geoffrey Gamble. The New York Times 6/24)
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Relevant Links:
Men's Basketball, Montana State University - http://www.msubobcats.com/index.asp?page=mb
Montana state University - http://www.montana.edu

Related Stories:
Indian athletes often ignored (6/18)