Photo: John McCall/Sun Sentinel/TNS
By Paulina Buelna
NEW YORK, NY – Civil rights leaders joined together this week to discuss the future hiring procedures of candidates of color in the National Football League after learning former Miami Dolphins coach Brian Flores accused the NFL and three of its teams of racial discrimination in a proposed class-action lawsuit.
The civil rights leaders who attended the meeting were “National Urban League President and CEO Marc H. Morial, National Action Network Founder and President Rev. Al Sharpton, National Coalition on Black Civic Participation President and CEO Melanie Campbell, NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson, and National African American Clergy Network co-convener Barbara Williams-Skinner, according to an article by NAACP.
Although the NFL has established a policy called “the Rooney Rule” that is supposed to offer more designated executive seats for people of color, it is not enough according to civil rights leaders.
The civil rights leaders demanded that the NFL start setting up time frames and goals of how many people of color should be appointed to work on their team.
The NFL is very influential in today’s society and sets the tone for many diversity issues happening in our world today, said the civil rights leaders, explaining why it’s important the NFL start taking accountability for neglecting their administered diversity issues.
The civil rights leaders urged the NFL teams to make better diversity decisions within their company or else big networks such as the National Action Network may pull funding, hoping to influence the NFL and make the league understand things needed to change now.
Over the past decade the NFL has been called out by numerous Black players and coaches who feel they are being overlooked by the league.
I agree that it’s time to eliminate the Rooney Rule.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rooney_Rule
I disagree with that. But even if were true, what does that say about society?
That’s called a “quota”. As far as people of color, is that going to be spelled-out (regarding percentages of each color)?
By the way, how many Asian players or coaches are there?
Or, LGBTIQA+ players and coaches?
Or, women? (Or those who identify as such?)