Discrimination in the NFL

Piece by: Kyle Srameck

It is no secret that the NFL has had its share of allegations of discrimination over the last several decades. One topic could be the treatment of women in the sport that has come under scrutiny recently. I may touch on that subject in a future article, but that is not what this one is about. This story will focus on race and the resulting criticism the league has faced as a result of its action or negligence in this regard.

This issue is one that is not new to the United States. From 1933 to 1945, the league banned African-American players from participating in the NFL due to limited integration during that time period. After that however, the Black as well as other racial minority players have slowly become the majority of the league’s players in terms of demographics. One would think that would give them more power in terms of negotiating with the league. However, that has not been the case so far. While there is a history of racial discrimination in the league, we will only be looking at this issue in the NFL from the 2010 to present day.

Let us begin with the Colin Kaepernick situation. In the preseason of 2016 NFL season, Kaepernick decided not to stand for the playing of the National Anthem before the game. He was doing this to protest the mistreatment of African-American people in the country by law enforcement and said he would not stand until that is rectified. A completely valid stance to take as any U.S. citizen has the right to peacefully protest any issue he or she might feel needs to be addressed.

That, however, was not how many saw it, especially fans of the league. They saw this as disrespecting the country, its flag, and its soldiers who ultimately make the greatest sacrifice to protect its citizens. Their displeasure for his actions was felt by the NFL as attendance at games and TV ratings dropped sharply that season. It also put pressure on teams to react justly or feel the same wrath as the league was at that time. After that season, the quarterback was released by the 49ers for his poor performance, which was understandable as his stats did not justify the money he was making. Whether his actions during the national anthem played a role in that was questioned by many around the league.

The NFL has an anti-discriminatory policy in place for this reason, but proving this occurred in any sense is always difficult regardless of the industry. He has yet to be signed to an NFL team which can be justified as well. NFL owners are running a team which also happens to be a business that they must take care of financially regardless of the situation. While they themselves may not be discriminating based on his actions, they must also look at what would happen if they were to sign the player. Fans may stop coming to their games and networks may stop airing their games which would absolutely hurt them in terms of the team’s earnings. While he may be worth taking a one year prove it kind of deal, the backlash from all sides could crush even the most successful franchises in the league. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell admitted they handled the situation poorly and that they could have done more to support him during this situation.

That was just one, major case of alleged discrimination in the NFL in the last decade. That, however, only covers players in the league. Coaches and team staff face similar issues as well. One resent example of this was the acquisition that a team’s hiring official made toward a coaching candidate for a position on a team’s staff. The individual was Eugene Chung, a former offensive lineman and assistant coach in the NFL. Chung also happens to be Korean meaning he is a racial minority in the United States and the league as well.

During the interview I am referencing, the person interviewing the candidate told him he was “not the right minority” for the position. If the accusation is true, the interviewer could face being relieved of his duties within the team as well as legal problems as this is hiring discrimination in the country. The Rooney Rule was put in place in part to end racial discrimination in hiring coaches, but has failed to do so since its inception at the beginning of this century. While Chung has made the claim of discrimination, he has declined to identify the perpetrator nor the team to defend the league’s integrity. He just wanted to bring to light this is occurring in the NFL today and is in need of being addressed.

In both of these situations the NFL has been the alleged perpetrator. This is often true for most claims of discrimination, but they also have a partner in crime at times. The NFLPA should have the interest of all the league’s players both current and retired. While this can be argued one way or another depending on who you are, it is also not innocent in this situation either. It was recently released that the league and the players’ union had agreed to a way of determining whether a player had a brain disease known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). One common side effect of this is a decline in cognitive function of an individual.

Players may also have thoughts of self-harm as was the case for former NFL player Junior Seau did. Unfortunately, he decoded to follow through with those thoughts and is no longer with us today. One of the only ways this can be tested is by establishing a baseline test for a player and then determining later if he has this disease. The two side agreed upon a form of determining this known as race norming. This means that different races have higher or lower average cognitive abilities between said demographics. Regardless of which race has the higher average cognitive ability, this is obviously a form of discrimination. Grouping players by their ethnicity is by definition racial stereotyping which is absolutely disturbing in the year 2021.

The NFLPA who claims to have the interest of the players and their safety as their main responsibility should have never agreed to this in the first place. A logical thinker would say each individual player should have their own baseline tested whether it be at the scouting combine or at some other time prior to the draft. Whatever the two sides agree upon, it needs to not be discriminatory in any way and the process should be absolutely transparent to all of the league at minimum.

These are just three of the most recognizable instances of potential discrimination in the NFL in recent history. I hope all stakeholders in the league can come together on an agreement to eliminate this from occurring in the future.