Just three days after the Super Bowl matchup was set, the NFL has already felt a year's worth of the offseason. Tom Brady's retirement, former Dolphins coach Brian Flores' racial discrimination lawsuit against the league and three teams, and now a U.S. A congressman is demanding a hearing on the NFL's hiring practices for qualified black candidates.
Although the Super Bowl will take place on February 13, the season has already started.
US Bobby L., Congressman Rush, an Illinois Democrat, wrote a letter to fellow Illinois Democrat Representative John Shimkus about hiring minority coaches in the NFL. Jan Shakowski (D-Ill.), Subcommittee of Consumer Protection and Commerce Chair of the Energy and Commerce Committee. Professional sports are governed by this committee. The letter stated the following:
According to NBC Sports, Rush wrote, "70 percent of the National Football League [NFL] players are black, but it is unacceptable and reprehensible that following the recent shootings of Houston Texans head coach David Cuss and the Miami Dolphins, we are in the NFL." Of the 32 head coaching positions in the U.S., only one is left with a black head coach."
"Incredibly, an NFL team has never had a black owner," the representative continued. "I fear that this lack of diversity is more systematic in nature than a coincidence or accident." This, simply put, is blatant racism. Coach Flores, like Colin Kaepernick when he protested police violence against black men and boys, is risking his career by raising allegations of racism against the NFL. David Cully and Brian Flores weren't the first to be fired. These are claims that keep coming up.
"Given our jurisdiction over professional sports, it is the responsibility of this subcommittee to bring these allegations to light and conduct a thorough investigation." As a result, I strongly urge you to have an urgent hearing on the issue of systemic racism in the NFL, particularly as it pertains to ownership, coaching and general management positions.
Even though he had back-to-back winning seasons in Miami, Flores was fired by the Dolphins last month for alleged "poor cooperation" with the team. Flores filed a lawsuit Tuesday in the Southern District of New York, alleging that "the NFL is rife with racism," particularly when it comes to hiring black head coaches, general managers and top coordinators.
Former Miami Coach Brian Flores
Flores further said that the Dolphins offered him $100,000 per loss in 2019 to improve the team's draft position. Flores also claimed that the Denver Broncos (since 2019) and the New York Giants (2022) interviewed him only to satisfy the NFL's Rooney Rule, which mandates that each team hire a freshman on at least one minority candidate. The coach assigns the interview.
Mike Tomlin of the Pittsburgh Steelers is the only black head coach in the NFL's 32 franchises, following Flores's firing last month.
According to Flores' 58-page lawsuit, the NFL has 70 percent of the black player population, which is disproportionately represented in the team and league front office.
The lawsuit states, “While their majority-black workforce lines their bodies every Sunday, taking vicious hits and suffering injuries debilitating their bodies and minds, the NFL and its owners earn billions of dollars.” Huh."
The NFL disputes any recruitment misconduct.
"The NFL and our clubs are committed to ensuring equal employment practices across our organizations," the NFL said in a statement. "There are few issues on which our club and internal leadership team spend more time than diversity. We will fight these baseless claims."
Other than the league's Pro Bowl game, there are no NFL games this weekend. The Cincinnati Bengals will face the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl 56 on February 13 at Sophie Stadium in Los Angeles.