- In this Feb. 25, 2006, file photo, Temple head coach John Chaney yells directions to his players during the the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Duke in Philadelphia, in this Saturday, Feb. 25, 2006, file photo. John Chaney, one of the nation’s leading Black coaches and a commanding figure during a Hall of Fame basketball career at Temple, has died. He was 89. His death was announced by the university Friday, Jan. 29, 2021. John Chaney’s raspy, booming voice drowned out the gym when he scolded Temple players over a turnover — at the top of his basketball sins — or inferior effort. His voice was loudest when it came to picking unpopular fights, lashing out at NCAA policies he said discriminated against Black athletes. And it could be profane when Chaney let his own sense of justice get the better of him with fiery confrontations that threatened to undermine his role as father figure to scores of his underprivileged players. Complicated, cranky, quick with a quip, Chaney was an imposing presence on the court and a court jester off it, all while building the Owls perched in rugged North Philadelphia into one of the toughest teams in the nation. Read more https://apnews.com/article/john-chaney-dead-cd9f6984b8b24165f18a296b6d552d40
