Joe Biden Is Disappointed With The NFL
It's been a busy couple of weeks for the NFL. They've made headlines for weeks now, and not only because of the February 13 Super Bowl LVI broadcast. (They wish that was the only reason!) No, the NFL is facing more controversy because of a recent lawsuit claiming racial discrimination in their hiring practices. And now our president, Joe Biden, is unhappy with them, too.
While a majority of Republicans claim the NFL has done "too much" to show respect for Black players, according to the Los Angeles Times, others recognize the NFL has not done nearly enough to address their discriminatory hiring practices. This stems primarily from the lawsuit brought forward by former Miami Dolphins coach Brian Flores, who accused the League of multiple problems, including a sham interview.
While the NFL's "Rooney Rule" requires teams to interview coaches of color, per NPR, it doesn't guarantee any hires, and it has seemingly become a way for the League to make a show of diversity without practicing real inclusion. It's an empty promise, one that has resulted in even fewer coaches of color than before the rule was implemented. Biden recognized that in an interview with NBC News' Lester Holt — one that was largely overshadowed by Sunday's sporting events (both the Super Bowl and the Olympics). Yet Biden had an important message to share.
Joe Biden called the issue a requirement of 'generic decency'
In the NBC News interview with President Joe Biden, Lester Holt asked if the NFL "should be held to a higher standard" when it comes to issues of racial discrimination and hiring practices. Biden answered by saying it "should be held to a reasonable standard." He also agreed with the statements of the NFL's own commissioner, Brian Goodell. "The commissioner pointed out, they haven't lived up to what they committed to," Biden said in reference to the hiring more Black coaches. "Goodell says they're gonna take a look at whether they can meet the standard. And the standard was set by someone who said this is something we should do."
Goodell had said something similar, mentioning in his pre-Super Bowl press conference on February 9 that "[w]e have to do a better job" about making the league more inclusive. As of this writing, the Steelers' Mike Tomlin is the only Black head coach in the NFL — that came after the firings of former Houston Texans head coach David Culley and former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores, per NFL.com.
Biden expressed surprise at the difficulty in hiring coaches of color considering the makeup of players in the League is about 71% non-white, per Yahoo! Sports. "Think about it," Biden said. "The whole idea that a league that is made up of so many athletes of color, as well as so diverse, that there's not enough African American qualified coaches to quote, 'to manage,' these NFL teams, it just seems to me that it's a standard that they'd want to live up to."