MIAMI — “I don’t see color.”
When people bring up matters of race that phrase comes up more often than not.
And if you got that response from (at least) a few of the 32 NFL owners it would not be a surprise.
But perhaps they need to see color.
They would see five Black general managers, including Chris Grier of the Miami Dolphins
They would see one Black head coach.
And they would see zero Black owners.
For all the numbers that can be thrown about when it comes to a league where the overwhelming majority of players are Black, the ownership number stands out the most.
In the wake of former Miami Dolphins coach Brian Flores’ lawsuit and allegations of racial discrimination during the hiring process in the NFL — not to mention the accusations levied against Dolphins owner Stephen Ross — team ownership cuts to the root of the problem.
The idea that an owner would pay $100,000 per defeat to his coach in an effort to tank and get the No. 1 overall pick seems outrageous — while Dolphins fans were yelling “Tank for Tua” in 2019 to do anything to get that coveted spot. Don’t think that Ross is the only person who complained when the Dolphins finished 5-11 to earn the fifth overall pick. With the No. 1 pick of the 2020 NFL draft (Joe Burrow) leading the Bengals to Super Bowl 56 on Feb. 13, short-term memory loss and revisionist history blame Flores for winning too much that season.
The lawsuit states: “The team’s general manager, Chris Grier, told Mr. Flores that ‘Steve’ was ‘mad’ that Mr. Flores’ success in winning games that year was ‘compromising [the team’s] draft position.”
It further says: “In fact, Mr. Flores was ultimately terminated and subsequently defamed throughout the media, and the League as he was labeled by the Dolphins brass as someone who was difficult to work with. This is reflective of an all too familiar ‘angry black man’ stigma that is often casted upon Black men who are strong in their morals and convictions while white men are coined as passionate.”
Before the fictional line is drawn to defend Ross or drum him out of the NFL, let’s take an honest look at the situation.
People generally feel more comfortable working with people who look like them, have similar views of the world and values. NFL owners range in age from the Chicago Bears’ Virginia McCaskey (99) to the Kansas City Chiefs’ Clark Hunt (56). Both took control of those teams the old-fashioned way — they inherited them. Only three of owners are under the age of 60.
That means many of these owners including Ross (at 81) are the same age or older than Ruby Bridges at 67, who famously desegregated a New Orleans school in 1960.
They witnessed the Civil Rights era up close.
Many can remember the “I Have A Dream Speech” in person.
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King in 1968 were life-changing moments during turbulent times where people took sides.
Kind of like today.
Although a lot of racial barriers have been broken since that time, remember I still live in a state where Nazis are still holding rallies. There are still a significant number of people whose thinking has not changed.
There are NFL teams that do a lot of good for the community. For example, the Dolphins led the league in community service hours in 2019 and fed thousands during the height of the pandemic.
But while it is laudable that teams make a difference in the fabric of the community, this is about opportunity in a franchise’s primary function of football.
On Tuesday, ESPN’s Marcus Spears, who played nine seasons in the NFL for the Cowboys and Ravens, said: “The NFL owners are the ones that determine who will be the head coaches for their football teams. And they have no incentive to hire black coaches, minority coaches because they don’t have to answer to anybody. “
The Rooney Rule, which requires teams to interview at least one minority candidate for head coaching and general manager positions, is well-meaning but has little bite. It was named after Dan Rooney, the chairman of the league’s diversity committee and owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Not surprisingly the Steelers have the only Black head coach in the NFL at the moment, Mike Tomlin, who has never had a losing season since he was hired in 2007 at age 34.
NFL owners have mastered — and mocked — the art of filling the Rooney requirements since it was enacted in 2003 by interviewing minorities while hiring the person they have in mind. People who look just like them and share similar backgrounds.
The spirit of the rule, to ensure that minority candidates for coaching and GM positions, is a sham because NFL owners make it that way. You can’t force compliance without penalty.
Whether you believe the lawsuit, the idea that Patriots legendary coach Bill Belichick mistakenly congratulated Flores instead of Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll for getting the New York Giants coaching job by text before he interviewed is unfortunate at best and damning at worst.
Daboll, who did a great job with Buffalo, was eventually hired, just like Belichick stated in the text.
Daboll is a worthy hire who deserves his shot to lead like so many others.
But I find it hard to believe that in a league that is anywhere from 60 percent to 70 percent Black that there is only one Black head coach among 32 positions.
There are five openings remaining, and we may never see Flores as a head coach in the NFL again (we’re still waiting for Colin Kaepernick to return for kneeling during the national anthem).
Short term we may see a minority hiring in part to quiet the criticism.
But long term, until the NFL has minority ownership it would be foolish to expect the status quo to change.
