NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said Wednesday that the league could be better at hiring a diverse cast of coaches and that it is actively trying to become more “inclusive” and “diverse.”
When asked why the NFL has such a “difficult time, at the highest levels, hiring black people into decision-making positions,” Goodell assured reporters that the league is actively looking for policies and incentives to make the league “inclusive” and agreed that they are “not doing a good enough job” at hiring minority coaches.
So far in 2022, there have been nine head coaching vacancies, and only six have been filled, according to a report from the NFL. All six have been filled by white men. There are only five minority coaches throughout the entire league.
The NFL says diversity, equity and inclusion are part of its core principles. The numbers say otherwise, so I asked @nflcommish about it. ?? pic.twitter.com/IJYl7EGdN0
— Jim Trotter (@JimTrotter_NFL) February 9, 2022
“We won’t tolerate racism,” Goodell told reporters at the briefing. “We won’t tolerate discrimination. If there are policies that we need to modify, we’re going to do that. If we’ve seen evidence of discrimination, we will deal with that in a very serious way that will reflect the fact that we won’t tolerate that.”
ROGER GOODELL SHOULD RESIGN AND APPOINT A BLACK PERSON AS NFL COMMISSIONER
As a result of its hiring choices, the NFL unveiled a new database to display information about a variety of candidates. Goodell expressed hope that these efforts will help the league continue to attract “the best talent” and value diversity.
With the Denver Broncos’ open owner position, Goodell put the onus on the team to take a “positive step.”
“We would love to see a diverse owner of the team,” Goodell said. “Whether that’s a person of color, or a female or a black man, we think that would be a really positive step for us and something that we’ve encouraged.” There are currently no black owners and only two minority owners in the league.
When it came to questions surrounding former Miami Dolphins coach Brian Flores’s lawsuit, Goodell said the league is also investigating his allegations. Among the allegations of racism, Flores also alleged that Dolphins owner Stephen Ross offered to pay Flores $100,000 per lost game to obtain a better draft pick at the end of the season. Goodell told reporters he would like to know the facts surrounding their interaction.
Sports editor Dave Zirin predicted beforehand that Goodell would reiterate the league’s opposition to discrimination. “Today the Goodell presser? Break out the boots & wade through the number of times he says, ‘The NFL is against all discrimination’ as if ‘the NFL’ is somehow a separate entity from the 31 billionaires who run the teams,” Zirin wrote, adding, “Yup, he did it,” after the briefing.
Yup, he did it. Reporters have to call him on this. “The NFL” is not Roger Goodell. It’s 31 billionaires who smell like Old Spice and brisket. https://t.co/HSTEv8qoCr
— Dave Zirin (@EdgeofSports) February 9, 2022
Bally Sports writer Maggie Hendricks presented a solution on Twitter. “[It’s] for NFL owners to hire Black coaches and executives,” Hendricks wrote. “It’s really not more complicated than that, but Goodell works for the owners, so he’s going to look to policies and procedures.”
This was a great question, and Goodell says, “If there was one answer to fix this, we’d do it.”
It for NFL owners to hire Black coaches and executives. It’s really not more complicated than that, but Goodell works for the owners, so he’s going to look to policies and procedures https://t.co/2m0JnzfHEz
— Maggie Hendricks (@maggiehendricks) February 9, 2022
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Goodell added that the league is investigating Washington Commanders owner Daniel Snyder following accusations of sexual harassment.
