Valerie Thomas: NFL Guilty of Discrimination?
“When someone is running a con on you, you won’t be able to stop them until you understand how their con works.”
- Bob Grant
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Valerie Thomas uncovered another perfect example of how the NFL does as little as it can to look like they’re doing a lot. But as with everything else they do – like all those new programs they keep rolling out each year for its retired players – there’s little real substance when you look more closely at each new PR campaign that they announce. The Commissioner just loves stepping up to announce new programs.
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This summer, the NFL made a big deal about their diversity program under the newly-announced Rooney Rule.
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The 2009 Racial and Gender Report Card: NFL
Valerie Thomas
Studies can be fixed and filtered to reach certain conclusions. So always read between the lines. It’s important to know the reason for the study and the method in which the data is collected and analyzed.
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The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sports (TIDES) conducted an analysis of the racial breakdowns of the NFL League office and teams. The 2009 Racial and Gender Report Card: NFL was released in September 2009. The NFL provided the information and reviewed it for accuracy.
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The NFL achieved an A- on racial hiring and a C on gender hiring. The combined grade was B. The NFL also received an “A” for its programs involving diversity initiatives.
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Fixed – The purpose of the study was “to indicate areas to contribute to the improvement of integration in [NFL] front office positions.” Nothing more and nothing less.
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A closer look at this study revealed that African American women were excluded in NFL front office and team executive positions. Yet the NFL received an “A-” on racial hiring. Based on my review and findings of the study the urgent question to be answered is: Does the NFL discriminate against African American women in their hiring practices?
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Fixed – There was a cover up to minimize the exclusion of a “protected class.” The term, “African American women,” was never mentioned in the study and references to “African American women” were encoded, subliminal and understated. For example, when you see words like, “people of color, African Americans, women in management, minorities, women, and female,” it appears that African American women are included.
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Filtered – On the contrary it is clear that African American women are excluded when you see such statements as: “none of the 20 female presidents were women of color, all were white, all were African American men, none are women of color, no person of color, people of color.”
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The only specific reference about black women was Serena and Venus Williams as…”the first female African Americans to be part owners of an NFL team.” I am very proud of this milestone by the Williams sisters. However, this study is about the NFL’s racial and gender hiring practices in the front office.
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Examples from the study:
NFL League Office: Race = A and Gender = C
- With the exception of African Americans, all minorities saw an increase in their percentage of management positions.
- The percentage of women in management positions increased;
- Twelve (12) women served as vice-presidents in the League Office. All were white.
- Five (5) minorities served as vice-presidents in the League Office. All five were African American men.
Team Vice-Presidents: Race = D and Gender = F
- There were 12 African American vice presidents, all were men;
- Women held 20 of the vice president positions, up from 17. None of the 20 female presidents were women of color.
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Also, the study cited:
- Significant progress was made in hiring practices regarding race, especially in NFL coaching staff, officials and front office executives;??
- From 2007-2008 percentages of people of color increased for team professional administration… and remained the same for head coaches and team senior administrators;
- The percentages for people of color decreased only in assistant coaches and team vice-presidents;
- The percentages for women increased for team senior administrators, team vice-presidents and radio/TV broadcasters while decreasing for team professional administration;
- There has never been a person of color serving as president or CEO in the history of the NFL;
- The number of female vice presidents in the NFL increased from 17 to 20. None are women of color;
- “People of color hold 18% of senior administrators on NFL teams. 19% of total senior administrators were women”?
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The study concluded that, “The record of NFL League Office combined with the teams regarding the hiring of women improved slightly but lagged significantly behind the progress on race.”
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The translation of this statement is:
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Progress was made regarding: Race [white women; black men], Females [white], Women [white], Minorities [white women and black men]; and, People of color [black men]. With the exception of African Americans [black women], all minorities [white women; black men] saw an increase.
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People of color decreased in assistant coaches [black men] and in team vice presidents [black men or black women?]. Women [white] improved slightly but [Women] lagged significantly behind the progress on race [black women].
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When you separate women by race, there is a tremendous disparity between the gains of white women and African American women in the NFL. A comparison of salaries would also be interesting.
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When separating race by gender, there is a significant difference between the gains of African American men and African American women in the NFL. Gender is not an obstacle in the NFL, but, Race is still a major issue in the NFL with respect to “African American women.”
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Conclusion
In 2003, the Rooney Rule was established to require NFL teams to interview qualified minority candidates for head coaching and senior football operations opportunities. The rule was named for Dan Rooney, owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers and the chairman of the league’s diversity committee.
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“The league indicated that the minority interviewing rule would not apply to a case in which a team’s top front-office job is held or filled by the franchise’s owner or a member of his or her family, or in a case in which a team has an existing contractual obligation to promote a member of its front-office staff.”
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In June 2009 the NFL announced that it would extend its Rooney Rule on hiring “people of color” to front-office hires. Black men and white women have benefited thus far but “women of color” have not. The Rooney Rule should be amended to include hiring “African American women” in NFL front office executive level positions.
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Read the piece on the NFL’s Rooney Rule from the Washington Post – click HERE.
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After years of studies on racial and gender hiring, “women of color” in the NFL have been “left behind” and the exclusion has been camouflaged. Unlike other groups, for the past three decades (1980-2009), economic gains and contributions towards the growth of our families have been lost. Many NFL players can relate to the struggles that their mothers experienced because of social disparities in the workforce.
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NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell recently stated that the NFL is “held to a high standard.” But the result of this study has every indication of a personal foul and unsportsmanlike conduct.
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The NFL should not “benefit” from its anti-trust exemption while qualified “women of color” wait another decade to be included. “We” deserve respect and equality. Who is setting the standard for the NFL? Perhaps – as Rep. Linda Sanchez suggested – Congressional oversight is warranted.
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Valerie J. Thomas
Former NFLPA Research Analyst and Paralegal Independent Player Advocate copyright ©2009 Valerie J. ThomasAAA
