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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
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Pamela Newkirk

The NFL is a microcosm of America. Brian Flores’ lawsuit is a reminder of that

NFL America Brian Flores
FILE - Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores during the second half of an NFL football game against the New England Patriots, Sunday, Jan. 9, 2022, in Miami Gardens, Fla. Fired Miami Dolphins Coach Brian Flores sued the NFL and three of its teams Tuesday, Feb. 1, 2022 saying racist hiring practices by the league have left it racially segregated and managed like a plantation. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee, File)
‘History shows that the effectiveness of any measure aimed at racial progress is commensurate with demonstrated commitment to the cause.’ Photograph: Wilfredo Lee/AP

While former Miami Dolphin Coach Brian Flores’ lawsuits against the NFL dominate the news, his story is an old one that’s as American as football.

The former coach’s allegations of league-wide racial discrimination and team interviews with minority candidates conducted in bad faith, sets the NFL’s nearly 20-year-old Rooney Rule – which was adopted in 2002 to address the virtual exclusion of minorities from leadership roles – in stark relief. The rule requires teams to interview minority candidates for coaching and other front-office jobs. However, in the nearly 20 years since the rule was conceived, the number of Black head coaches increased from one in a single season to a high of eight in 2011, but today again stands at one.

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