NFL Seeks To Address Diversity Concerns With New Rules, Oversight Committee
Tuesday, March 29, 2022 at 09:15PM NYSJ Sports-Entertainment Business News Service
March 29, 2022: Under growing pressure to make its pledge to open more doors for minorities and women among coaching staffs, executives and ownership a realty, the NFL has taken several steps to address the league's ongoing diversity efforts.
“We’ve worked for years and made progress in many areas to ensure that staff and leaders in our office and at our clubs reflect the racial and gender makeup of America, but we have more work to do, particularly at the head coach and front-office level,” commissioner Roger Goodell said via the NFL.
At the Annual League Meeting in Palm Beach, Fla., the NFL said all 32 NFL teams would “hire a minority offensive assistant coach for the 2022 season” as part of a series of policy enhancements.
According to the NFL, the coach can be "a female or a member of an ethnic or racial minority," to be paid from a league-wide fund.
“The coach must work closely with the head coach and the offensive staff, with the goal of increasing minority participation in the pool of offensive coaches that eventually produces the most sought-after candidates for head-coaching positions.”
"It's a recognition that at the moment, when you look at stepping stones for a head coach, they are the coordinator positions," Art Rooney II, Pittsburgh Steelers owner and chairman of the NFL Diversity, Equity and Inclusion committee, said via the league.
"We clearly have a trend where coaches are coming from the offensive side of the ball in recent years, and we clearly do not have as many minorities in the offensive coordinator [job]."
In addition, following a discussion among the 32 NFL clubs, the league said the membership adopted the following statement and resolution “that outlines its commitment to increasing diversity among ownership”.
"The NFL member clubs support the important goal of increasing diversity among ownership.
“Accordingly, when evaluating a prospective ownership group of a member club pursuant to league policies, the membership will regard it as a positive and meaningful factor if the group includes diverse individuals who would have a significant equity stake in and involvement with the club, including serving as the controlling owner of the club."
The NFL also unveiled the creation of the NFL Diversity Advisory Committee, “following its pledge last month to retain outside experts to review the league’s diversity policies and practices.”
The six-member committee will “lend its expert, external perspective on industry best practices and will evaluate league and club diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) strategies and initiatives, including all hiring processes, policies and procedures, with a primary focus on senior-level coach and front office personnel positions,” according to the NFL.
After completing this evaluation, the committee will provide “comprehensive recommendations to the league office and club ownership for consideration.”
The committee’s membership, which will convene initially in the coming weeks, includes:
• Pamela Carlton, Founder and President, Springboard
• Peter Harvey, Former Attorney General of New Jersey; Partner, Patterson Belknap
• Patricia Brown Holmes, Managing Partner, Riley Safer Holmes & Cancila
• Stefanie K. Johnson, Associate Professor, University of Colorado Boulder’s Leeds School of Business
• Rick Smith, Former General Manager, Houston Texans
• Don Thompson, CEO and Founder, Cleveland Avenue, LLC, and Former President and CEO, McDonald’s Corp.
““This esteemed group’s work will help us build a more inclusive league,” Goodell (pictured during a media conference at the League Meeting) said via the NFL.
“We look forward to their recommendations – and to continuing our conversations with other outside experts, community and civil rights leaders, Fritz Pollard Alliance and current and former players and coaches – to make our efforts and those of the clubs more effective so that real and tangible results will be achieved.”
“The truth of the matter is that as of today, at least, there aren’t many women in the pool in terms of head coach,” Rooney said via the league.
“We hope that is going to change over the years, but for that reason we didn’t see it as inhibiting the number of interviews for racial minorities at this point in time. Obviously, we can address that as time goes on, but for now we didn’t see that as an issue.
“Really, we are looking at probably the early stages of women entering the coaching ranks, so we may be a little ways away before that becomes a problem.”
Photos: NFL
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