NFL owners were forced to defend themselves after league executive Troy Vincent referred to the annual Scouting Combine as an event resembling the characteristics of a ‘slave auction’.
Vincent - the NFL executive vice president of football operations - spoke to owners around the league on Wednesday to announce changes to the combine. These include less tedious medical evaluation processes, as well as a deeper investigation into the questions teams ask prospects.
The changes come after the combine and the general pre-draft evaluation process has come under scrutiny in recent times, with many figures labelling the methods of getting information about players as dehumanising. The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase traditionally held at the Indianapolis Colts’ Lucas Oil Stadium whereby college football players perform a series of physical and mental tests for NFL coaches, general managers and scouts.
With great significance placed on the NFL Draft, the combine has naturally grown in importance as personnel directors evaluate prospects in a standardised setting. According to CBS Sports, sources within the meeting revealed Vincent referenced a slave auction as he spoke to team owners.
“We just feel like the overall experience, talking to the players, we can be better in that particular aspect,” Vincent told media later in the day. “So there was, I would say, a good discussion around what that looks like, where we could be, keeping in mind that the combine is the player's first experience with the National Football League, and in that experience, there has to be dignity.
“It's a great opportunity for the young men, but there has to be some form of dignity and level of dignity and respect as they go through that process. That was the overall theme around our combine [discussion.]”
Vincent’s comments sparked an immediate response from Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank, who has a strong record of diversity and inclusion across his two decades in the NFL. He took offence to the idea he was aiding and attending an event that could be considered racist, while Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones noted how many thousands of college players there are, with only 300 invited to the combine ahead of the all-important draft. Pittsburgh Steelers owner Art Rooney II, who is chairman of the NFL Diversity, Equality and Inclusion Committee, suggested teams need the necessary information at the combine to make informed decisions when they pick their player come draft day.
Ultimately, the combine process has been discussed in the past but this particular occasion was noteworthy given Vincent’s tone. The former Pro Bowler has been with the NFL in his role since 2014, addressing topics such as kneeling during the national anthem and coaching hiring discrepancies.
The entire pre-draft process has been overhauled over in recent years, with the NFL no longer issuing the Wonderlic test - an aptitude exam criticised for its bias and relevancy. However, the combine is crucial to NFL teams to discover medical information and understand player profiles - but it is renowned for its inappropriate questions.
In 2016, cornerback Eli Apple said a team asked him if he liked men, while former defensive end Obum Gwacham said he was asked when he lost his virginity during the 2015 process. CBS Sports reported that Vincent revealed a story during the ownership meeting about an unnamed Black player who had been asked by one of the 32 NFL teams to rap during an interview. He implied that a white player would not have been asked such a question.
“When we talk to [players] during their draft experience, we ask the question: Is there anything we should be doing from your first interaction with the National Football League?” Vincent said. “And those men are open and sometimes they share things with you, and you scratch your head. Often times you're embarrassed. And you can say these are things that we can fix, these are things we can adjust to make that whole prospect experience better.”
The 2023 NFL Scouting Combine will run from Tuesday 28 February until Monday 6 March.
