The NFL went woke again with one bad decision
Americans are tired of politics intruding on sports.
As the most popular sport in America, the NFL sets the trend in this regard.
And the NFL just went woke again with one bad decision.
The Super Bowl between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs should be dominating the headlines.
Instead the NFL found itself in another political mess thanks to woke commissioner Roger Goodell.
Donald Trump signed executive orders ending diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs in the federal government as well as instructing the Justice Department to investigate DEI programs in the private sector.
The NFL thinks it’s above everything because of its ability to be the last television property standing to draw a mass audience.
Reporters grilled Goodell about the league’s DEI programs.
“We got into diversity efforts because we felt like it was the right thing for the National Football League, and we’re going to continue those efforts because we’ve not only convinced ourselves, we’ve proven ourselves that it does make the NFL better,” Goodell stated. “We’re not in this because it’s a trend to get in or a trend to get out of it. “
In 2003 the NFL implemented the Rooney Rule – named after Pittsburgh Steelers owner Dan Rooney – mandating a team interview minority candidates for their head coaching vacancy.
Teams must now interview two minority candidates for head coaching vacancies and at least one offensive assistant must be a minority.
Goodell claimed racial quotas – which the Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional in the 1970s – allowed the league to attract the best coaching talent.
“Our efforts are fundamental in trying to attract the best possible talent in the National Football League both on and off the field as I said previously. We see that. We see how it benefits the National Football League, and so I think we’ll continue those efforts,” Goodell added.
Goodell claimed there was no league wide pressure to force teams to hire minority candidates even though the NFL implemented rules that awarded teams extra draft picks if another franchise hired away a minority assistant coach or front office personnel for a head coach or general manager position.
“I think it’s also clearly a reflection on our fan base and our communities and our players. People talk a lot about the Rooney Rule… for us there’s no requirement to hire a particular individual on the basis of race or gender. It’s simply on the basis of looking at a campus of candidates that reflect our communities and to look at the kind of talent that exists there, and then you make the best decision on who is hired,” Goodell continued.
Goodell claimed other private sector companies applauded the league for its diversity efforts even though the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division now may target them as unlawful.
“So many of us, including the National Football League at our office, are doing that voluntarily at all levels because it has benefited us. And I hear that from companies on a global basis. That’s a very strong hiring practice we’re adopting also,” Goodell concluded.
Should the NFL end the Rooney rule?
YES or NO
