Flores v. Goodell

Some sports columnists are lauding ex-Dolphin coach Brian Flores for challenging the NFL for its dearth of Black head coaches, and commissioner Roger Goodell has said he finds it “completely unacceptable” that the roster of Black coaches has been reduced to one. Critics point out that 70% of the NFL players are Black, as if that requires that a larger percentage of coaches be Black, although no one is quite saying that percentage need by 70%. “Lack of diversity” in the head-coaching ranks is tossed about as a self-evident offense.
But in my view, “diversity” in this context is meaningless. Yes, if you have a company or a political body or a committee, it is valuable, even important, that diverse voices and backgrounds be included. The days of ten white males making decisions that affect others are, or should be, over. But the 32 NFL head coaches are not one body. They do not get together and make decisions. Each runs a separate organization. There should be diversity in their staffs, and there is; but that is within an organization. Each owner has the right, and the obligation, to choose the individual he thinks will do the best job running his team, without any consideration of what the other 31 owners are doing. The idea that any team should hire a Black coach because the other teams haven’t is absurd.

Contrast this with the “debate” over whether Biden should name a Black woman to the Supreme Court. Republicans, conveniently overlooking Clarence Thomas (and Amy Coney Barrett), are screaming that Biden must pick based on qualifications for the job, not because of someone’s gender or color. The Supreme Court, however, is precisely the venue where diversity, per se, matters. There is no “best person for the job.” There are hundreds, maybe thousands, of lawyers who are qualified and could handle the job (most third-year law students felt this way). What is important for the Supreme Court, once basic qualifications are established, is that its members reflect the society that will be impacted by its decisions. There are constituencies besides Black females that could claim they should be represented, but this is a good place to start. The over-representation of Catholics cuts the other way.

Flores claims that the “Rooney Rule,” the NFL’s rule that two minority candidates must be interviewed for any head coaching job, is a sham. I’m sure some teams treat it that way. But so what? The Rooney Rule has no legal force. The league can’t make any of its owners hire anyone. All it can do is make them take a look. If a Black coach thinks he is being used, he doesn’t have to agree to the interview. Some interview, somewhere along the line, may open some eyes. It’s better than nothing, which is what existed before. There is a discussion to be had as to why there are so many more white coaches, but that’s for another day and another place.