Black representation in pro sports is systemically stained by discrimination
February 24, 2022
This blog was written as part of Charlotte Mecklenburg Library's Black Lives Matter program initiative. Learn more about the program and corresponding events here.
As February 2022 and Black History Month comes to an end, the NFL, a pro sport dominated by Black athletes, is still making headlines. The NFL celebrated its Super Bowl contest on February 13 and ended its season but the news for aspiring coaches is not over.
This month began with former Miami Dolphins coach Brian Flores filing a lawsuit against the NFL, and three NFL teams including the Dolphins, claiming racial discrimination in hiring practices. NPR reported in a Monday sports article that Flores said in his lawsuit “that the NFL is ‘managed much like a plantation’ and that its 32 owners, none of whom is Black, profit from the labor of its players — 70% of whom are Black. He is seeking compensatory and punitive damages for the league's other Black head coaches, offensive and defensive coordinators and quarterback coaches and general managers, as well as African American candidates for those positions.”
For weeks, Flores continued to job-hunt and recently accepted a new job last week with the Pittsburgh Steelers. The team announced he will become its senior defensive assistant and linebacker coach. Flores’ lawsuit, however, is still ongoing.
The NFL initially disagreed with the lawsuit claims but NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is reversing its stance by saying the league’s existing efforts to hire minority coaches are “unacceptable.”
This subject is addressed in the fourth chapter of the new John Feinstein book, Raise a Fist, Take a Knee: Race and the Illusion of Progress in Modern Sports. Entitled “Still Climbing the Wall,” the chapter includes discussions with former Black head coach Tony Dungy about Blacks and coaching. He can ignore limited hiring cycles for Black candidates in coaching but bemoans the results. “Two of the last twenty head-coaching coaching hires in the NFL have been African Americans,” he said. “That’s not a good number.” And Flores was one of the two hires.
Discrimination in sports has been a large historical topic whether looking at the stories of the determined Jackie Robinson integrating Major League Baseball during the 1940s or the flamboyant boxer Jack Johnson in the 1900s fighting white boxers. Serving as a forebear, Robinson had many to follow with dreams of opportunities and success. But the path for the Black athlete in the United States is not surefooted with the simple focus of sports and family. As a microcosm of greater society, the sports world was surrounded by the one-time Jim Crow era along with still present racist attitudes. When facing those situations, some Black athletes turned to different methods including activism to confront racism.
In 2016, then NFL player Colin Kaepernick began silent protests of police brutality and racial inequality by taking a knee during the playing of the national anthem at the start of those football games. For a period, some followed his lead—intended as an act of peaceful protest—until criticism grew when others called the act unpatriotic. The football season ended and Kaepernick was released from his team to never play in the NFL again. The following year, he filed a lawsuit against the NFL that he was blackballed for his protests. In 2019, Kaepernick withdrew the lawsuit after a confidential settlement was reached.
This month, another challenge to discrimination is playing out with the NFL being a direct participant. Flores’ lawsuit against the NFL loomed as another Black head coach, Lovie Smith, joined the Houston Texans and Mike McDaniel, of biracial descent, replaced Flores at Miami. To date, the NFL can claim to have five head coaches of color, three of whom are African American including McDaniel.
Want to learn more about this topic? Black athletes are involved multiple sports including basketball, baseball, golf, tennis, among others. The disturbing conclusion is that these life stories include talented Black people being ignored, marginalized or feared. It is a cycle they confront with some major wins.
The Library has multiple titles about this subject for adults, teenagers and children readers including e-books, streaming videos and more. Check the separate booklists for additional readings.
This blog was written by Lawrence Turner, adult services librarian at South County Regional Library.