The people thought Brian Flores was lying.
A month after the former Miami Dolphins head coach, and current Pittsburgh Steelers defensive assistant, filed a 58-page class-action lawsuit against the NFL, New York Giants, Denver Broncos, and the Dolphins, the league is always reactive.
What about the broadcast booth?
Kevin Burkhardt will replace Joe Buck as the top play-by-play man for the NFL on FOX. FOX has two of the next three Super Bowls. The news also means that the booths will be led by white men.
Mike Tirico doesn't count. He said he was Italian, not Black. Let's respect his wishes.
Carron, are these new rules proof of progress?
No. They are examples of how the league keeps finding ways to give Black people things that they don't want, instead of giving them what they asked for.
The NFL makes meaningless grand gestures. Two years ago, the league tabled a resolution that would have encouraged the hiring of minority coaches and general managers by rewarding teams with improved draft positions. The bribe wasn't good enough for the owners. It has been reported that at least two more coaches are expected to join the lawsuit, which will expose more owners.
This is the real kicker. The Rooney Rule has been expanded to include women, as the new mandate that requires teams to have at least one diverse person as an assistant offensive coach just means.
It's a slap in the face to all the over qualified Black coaches that have been overlooked for decades, because the NFL has decided to hire over qualified Black coaches. The NFL doesn't have a diversity issue, it has an issue with black people. You should never trust them to do right by women when they can't even address the needs of the minority group that has filed a class-action lawsuit against them. The league has found a way to address their diversity problem by opening up the requirements to include women.
This isn't a shot at women who want to coach in the NFL, like Maral Javadifar who became the first female coach to win a Super Bowl with the Bucs in 2021, or the first black female assistant coach in the league. This isn't to take away from their accomplishments. To show you how the system works, and how this league will pull a three-card Monte to distract you from the fact that Black coaches are still being shut out.
The owners of the National Football League have never allowed a Black person to join their exclusive club.
The league created an NFL Diversity Advisory Committee. It has six members. Five of them are black. You have to create an outside committee to review the league's diversity policies and practices after a class-action lawsuit has been filed.
A new diversity committee and an updated Rooney Rule will not fix this because they were never intended to. It is just window dressing from a league that can masquerade with the best of them. The only people who see these moves as progress are the privileged.
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