This may or may not surprise you, but I don’t typically
listen to sports radio. But the other day
I was fortuitously in the car with my brother and sister-in-law (both diehard
Detroit Lions fans) listening to 104.3 The Fan’s The Drive with Big Al and
D-Mac who were discussing the firing and rehiring of NFL coaches. The two sports casters basically argued that after
getting fired, white coaches get rehired at a higher percentage rate than black
coaches, even if those white coaches have a poor coaching
record. Granted, a lot of what these
guys say is based on their personal opinions, so I decided to look into this a
little bit more on my own.
I found this brief article on the official NFL website where I learned that, "None of the eight new NFL head coaches is African-American. The number of African-American head coaches in the NFL will drop from five to three in 2012 after Lovie Smith and Romeo Crennel lost their jobs."
So, as of January 5,
2013, there are only 3 African-American coaches out of 32 NFL teams:
1. Marvin Lewis,
Cincinnati Bengals (entering 11th season) 2. Mike Tomlin, Pittsburgh Steelers (entering seventh season)
3. Leslie Frazier, Minnesota Vikings (entering third season)
Using a social sciences perspective, the data shows that NFL players are predominantly African-American (here are some statistics from the past 2 decades), but those in higher up positions are predominantly white. Looking at this through a critical standpoint, one can argue that historical factors of a racial hierarchy in the United States has affected the societal structure in today's National Football League. This 'historically-determined differential power positioning' (R.T. Halualani et al.'Critical' Junctures in Intercultural Communication Studies: A Review) coupled with the notion that we're living in a colorblind society has led many fans to argue "that we live in a post-racial world", but the above-mentioned statistics prove otherwise.
On top of this I learned about the Rooney Rule in which
franchises must interview at least one minority candidate when filling a head
coach position. However, there is
speculation that teams bring in a token minority to interview with no intention
of actually considering him for the position. If you’re interested, here’s
another quick piece on the situation.
Unfortunately I couldn’t track down the original Fan podcast,
but if anyone can find it, it’s an interesting listen.
I find this to be an interesting subject for observation. As someone who has played football, who enjoys the game, and hopes to see it continue I harbor mixed feelings regarding this issue. Maybe because, like so many other social obstacles, it is one of those challenges that seems straight forward on the surface but is overwhelmingly complex underneath.
ReplyDeleteFor example, you want to simply say well if there are so many talented African-American players, today and historically, well then hire so more black talented coaches. It only seems natural that the composition of the field will resemble the side lines eventually.
But at the same time this is a challenge that is rooted economically, socially, culturally...and all those other attributions that end in "ly". Personally, I believe after having had two black coaches face off in a recent superbowl game that we have proven to ourselves as a culture that this is no longer about performance, professionalism, or ability. I believe that this disparity rests with the "good ol' boy culture" of the NFL's CEOs, shareholders and owners. Whether their choices are shaped by nepotism or personal biases, their decisions are the most formative here, regardless of a changing social culture.
On the bright side the game is more competitive and open than ever before. Cheers Football!
Go Jaguars!!!
I have always found the NFL to be an interesting power structure to break down and analyze. At the surface, it's a simple game that seems competitive and fun, and it represents a very strong part of American culture--especially on Sundays. But after digging a little deeper, one can begin to unveil the power structures deeply embedded in the American football culture.
ReplyDeleteWhether it's through gender (with no representation of women), power (with White men predominantly owning the game), race (with little representation of minorities in power positions), it is evident that American football is actually more than a "simple" game.
During my undergrad, one of my professors had shared that she wrote her graduate thesis on comparing the treatment of NFL players during the draft to that of a slave combine. She directly drew research from the slave auctions when black men were asked to undress, run, jump, etc. She also interviewed a variety of anonymous NFL players who went off the record and ultimately agreed that there were some direct parallels that could be drawn from their experiences.
I heard about a lot of this going into the NFL offseason. The Rooney Rule, and rules like it (MLB instituted a similar rule several years earlier) necessitate that each NFL team interviews at least one minority candidate for head coaching and general manager vacancies. As Maggie pointed out, this rule has generated some controversy as a lot of minority candidates feel like they're brought in simply to meet the minority quota, and aren't actually considered as viable candidate. Because this year's crop of new NFL coaches all ended up being white, it's been suggested the Rooney Rule isn't doing enough.
ReplyDeleteI would argue that the Rooney Rule should extend beyond vacancies in head coaching and general managing positions. The majority of NFL head coaches are ex quarterbacks, and the overwhelming majority of NFL quarterbacks have been white. This is a trend that seems to be reversing in the last five years or so as NFL traditionalists begin to look at football in a less bigoted way. I believe we'll start to see more minority head coaches as there are more minority ex-NFL quarterbacks. It's been suggested recently that vacancies in Offensive and Defensive Coordinator positions should also have to interview minority candidates. These positions are occupied by men that played all over the field (and many that didn't play football at a high level). I believe the NFL would see plenty of viable candidates for these positions if they were reminded to look beyond the traditional scope.
also, 14 out of the the 30 NBA coaches are black. I wonder why there's such a difference.
ReplyDelete