The National Football League‘s commissioner said Saturday that efforts to promote diversity in hiring have been subpar in light of a lawsuit filed this week alleging racial discrimination in the league’s hiring process.
Commissioner Roger Goodell said that while the league has made “significant progress” in addressing discrimination, which is “contrary to the NFL’s values,” the hiring process has been “unacceptable.”
“Racism and any form of discrimination is contrary to the NFL’s values,” Goodell wrote in a Saturday memo to all 32 teams, who are also named in the lawsuit by former Miami Dolphins Coach Brian Flores. “We have made significant efforts to promote diversity and adopted numerous policies and programs which have produced positive change in many areas, however we must acknowledge that particularly with respect to head coaches the results have been unacceptable.”
THE SPORTS MEDIA OBSESSION WITH THE RACE OF NFL COACHES IS RIDICULOUS
The league vowed to “understand the lived experiences of diverse members of the NFL family to ensure that everyone has access to opportunity and is treated with respect and dignity.”
“There is much work to do, and we will embrace this moment and seize the opportunity to become a stronger, more inclusive league,” the memo read.
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
Flores’s lawyers, Doug Wigdor and John Elefterakis, said the commissioner’s memo was “on the surface, a positive first step” but expressed concern that the move was “more of a public relations ploy than real commitment to change.”
“We would be pleased to talk to the Commissioner about real change, but unfortunately he has not reached out to use to engage in such a discussion. In fact, nobody from the NFL has reached out to us,” they wrote.
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
Last week, Flores filed a lawsuit in the Southern District of New York seeking unspecified damages and league changes after he was passed up for a head coach position with the New York Giants. Flores alleged that the position had already been given to Brian Daboll three days before Flores’s interview.
Flores’s lawyers allege in the lawsuit that the league’s diversity policies are simply an example of its “disingenuous commitment to social equity,” noting that all 32 team owners are white, with only one black head coach, despite 70% of its players being black.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
So far in 2022, there have been nine vacancies in head coaches, and only six have been filled so far, according to a report. All six have been filled by white men.
