Fall and Football
As the days get shorter and leaves start turning, we feel a crispness in the air. Bring on the fall and football! Along with a great football game, we set out a spread of appetizers to enhance our tailgating experience with family and friends. But this year we have an added aspect to our football experience. Overt racial messaging to change our thoughts on white privilege and police brutality.
If you’re like me, you just want to watch a great game, munch on a few appetizers, enjoy your time with family and friends, and drink a few beers. Not receive lectures or messaging about racism from players, owners, or coaching staff!
NFL Diversity and Inclusion Report
What gives them the right to lecture us on diversity and racial equality? According to the NFL’s 2020 Diversity and Inclusion Report, dated March 21, 2020, the NFL is not as diverse as they want the rest of us to be.
Between 2019-2020 season, the NFL had 31 open positions for head coaches, offensive/defensive coordinators, and general managers. They hired white men for 24 of the 31 positions or 77.4%, leaving the seven remaining positions for men of color or 22.58%. We do not have any women as head coaches…yet.
Owners fared no better in the war on diversity with only eight out of 32 teams representing minority groups with majority stake in their teams. Though women are doing a little bit better in the ownership department, with 7 principal owners, there is still a long way to go to create a fair and equal playing field.
Players, usually the most vocal and recognizable group in the NFL are not as racially diverse as people think, with 70% people of color. If we are advocating racial diversity in all positions within the NFL, when will this number change?
Fans and Supporters
But where does that leave us as fans and supporters of the NFL? Fuming in our living rooms, plodding through the 2020 season, and hoping for a better season in 2021, when we return to the game we love and want? Or turning off the TV until 2021?
But what options do we have? How about owners, coaching staff and players denouncing the violence in Chicago over the Labor Day weekend? Or putting their money where their mouths are and investing in their communities in safety, education, and housing?
We all have a role to play in this game of life, but how about the NFL get back to playing football on Sundays and leave the lecturing to the media, social media, politicians, neighbors and your mom!
