In the wake of a complaint asserting race prejudice in the league’s recruiting process, the commissioner of the National Football League stated on Saturday that attempts to encourage diversity in hiring have fallen short.
Despite the fact the NFL has made “substantial progress” in combating prejudice, which he says is “contrary to the NFL’s ideals,” Commissioner Roger Goodell stated the hiring process has indeed been unsatisfactory.
Substantial Change
All 32 clubs were informed about the complaint by former Miami Dolphins trainer Brian Flores in a note sent out on Saturday. “Racism and any kind of prejudice are opposed to the NFL’s principles,” Goodell said in the statement to all 32 teams.
“We have made considerable efforts to encourage diversity and implemented several policies and initiatives that resulted in a beneficial change in a variety of areas. Nevertheless, we must admit the outcomes, especially in the case of head coaches, have been unsatisfactory.”
It promised to “learn the living experiences of varied individuals of the NFL family in order to guarantee everyone will have equality of opportunity and be treated with the utmost respect.”
“We have a tremendous amount of work to do; we will grab this chance to build a better, more inclusive league by embracing this moment,” according to the memo.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell just sent this memo to clubs, saying the league is retaining outside experts to help reevaluate its DEI policies and matters regarding integrity of the game will be “reviewed thoroughly and independently” in light of allegations from Brian Flores. pic.twitter.com/VUK2dm0MMe
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) February 5, 2022
According to Flores’ attorneys, Doug Wigdor and John Elefterakis, the commissioner’s message was “on the surface, a great first step.”
Still, they were concerned it was “more of a public relations trick than a genuine commitment to reform.”
“We would welcome the opportunity to speak with the commissioner about actual reform. However, he has not yet sought us out to initiate such a conversation. This is disappointing. In reality, we have not received any communication from the NFL,” the attorneys said in the statement.
Statement from Doug Wigdor and John Elefterakis, attorneys for Brian Flores, in response to today’s NFL statement. pic.twitter.com/mCzFrXN1UC
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) February 5, 2022
Surprising Statistics and Findings
Flores filed a suit in the southern district of New York last week.
In this lawsuit, he demanded unspecified damages, as well as reforms to the league after being passed over for the head coaching post with the New York Giants, according to the document.
During his interview, Flores claimed the post had already been granted to Brian Daboll, who arrived three days before.
Flores’ attorneys claim in the lawsuit that the league’s diversity policy decisions are merely an example of the league’s “insincere contribution to ethical equity.”
The attorneys believe this makes it clear since all 32 team owners are white, with only one black head coach, regardless of the fact that 70 percent of the league’s athletes are of African descent.
According to a source, there have been nine vacancies for head coaches so far in 2022, with just six of those positions being filled. White males have filled all six of the positions.
