3. Over the past nine years, I’ve played for four different NFL franchises.
And on four different teams, in four different cities, working out of four different buildings, I’ve noticed a similar divide: There’s upstairs, where the coaches, general managers and scouts have their offices, and downstairs, where you’ll find the locker rooms and the players.
Now the difference between upstairs and downstairs isn’t just management vs. labor — not if you’re a black player. The best way to put it is that, if you’re a black player in an NFL locker room, then you know that upstairs isn’t exactly a place where you feel welcome. And statistically speaking, the reason why is obvious.
In our league, 70% of the players are black. But “upstairs,” among the 32 NFL franchises, there are just three black coaches, two black general managers, two black offensive coordinators and no black majority owners.
This of course isn’t a new phenomenon. And it’s also not unique to the NFL. Among the 130 FBS college football programs, there are just 13 black coaches. Personally speaking, I’ve been playing football since I was in middle school — 19 years — and in that time, I’ve never had a black head coach. And I know many of my peers have had the same experience.
If you’re a football fan, there’s a decent chance you’ve heard of the Rooney Rule. Introduced in December 2002, the rule dictates that NFL teams must interview at least one minority candidate before filling their head-coaching vacancies. The first season after the rule went into effect there were three black coaches in the NFL. If that number sounds familiar, it’s because, yes, it’s the exact same number of black coaches as are in the league today.
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