You may have seen Brian Flores on the sideline when the PittsburghSteelers lost 29-17 to the ClevelandBrowns on Thursday night. The only job he could get due to his class-action lawsuit was as the senior defensive assistant/linebackers coach.
Flores, along with Ray Horton and Steve Wilks, are standing up for the Staleys, Bieniemys, and Leftwichs of the world, as they are tired of being overlooked when it comes to hiring.
This past week has been an example of how intentional the blackballing of Black coaches has historically been, which has only been heightened by how laughable the coaches are.
The Washington Post published a series on how the NFL blocks black coaches. It is an examination of how much hate and racism has always been in the NFL, which has led to the unfair hiring practices we see today.
Jerry Brewer writes for the WaPo.
“The descendants of four owners who were part of the Black exile still control franchises. George Halas paid $100 for the Bears in 1920. Tim Mara spent $500 on the Giants in 1925. Charles Bidwill put down $50,000 for the Cardinals in 1932. Art Rooney was charged a $2,500 fee for an expansion Pittsburgh franchise in 1933. Although they made Black players disappear for a dozen years, they left their families with integrated teams now worth billions.”
The analysis of three decades of data shows that since 1990 only 11 percent of full-time head coaches have been Black, as there have been 154 White coaches compared to just 20 Black men. Black coaches who win at least nine games are more likely to be fired than white coaches who only win six. The numbers have been there for a long time. They have become even more important when you watch the field.
In the first week of the season, the Broncos decided to go for it on fourth-and-5 with Russell Wilson instead of kicking a field goal.
In Week 2, he had a bunch of time management gaffes and let his tight end run the option. The Denver team has scored 16 points in their two games. The only thing that the head coach of one of the most disappointing teams in the league had to say was that he needed to do a better job of getting information to the quarterback.
A winless Raiders team that just made history by giving up the biggest lead the franchise has ever seen is being led by a man who has never won a game. Las Vegas had a 23-7 lead going into the fourth quarter. The game went into overtime and the Cards scored 22 unanswered points to win. He has a combined record of 11-19 but still has a job.
Black coaches don't get that kind of opportunity. They can't be as bad as Nathaniel Hackett or as good as Josh McDaniels. Some of you will be wondering why your team doesn't play up to its ability on Sunday. This week showed us once again that the owners of the National Football League prefer losing with white coaches over winning with black ones.
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