The former head coach of the Miami Dolphins, Brian Flores, has filed a class-action lawsuit against the National Football League and three of its teams for alleged racial discrimination.
The lawsuit shines a light on the lack of diversity among head coaches and leadership in professional sports, according to Patrick Rishe, director of the sports business program at Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis. With five head coach positions currently open in the NFL, he believes the timing of this lawsuit could lead to swift changes.
“While it is too early to know whether Flores will win his case, the mere fact the case has been brought will, going forward, force teams to be even more conscientious about their hiring processes and giving minority coaching candidates a fair and legitimate shot for open positions,” Rishe says.
“Additionally, with a few coaching vacancies left in the current 2022 NFL head coach cycle, the timing of Flores’ lawsuit may ultimately further influence teams to select minority candidates.”
While some are speculating that Flores—who is currently a candidate for at least two of the five remaining head coaching jobs—has torpedoed his chances at earning one of the current vacancies, Rishe does not believe that will be the case.
“I actually believe we are in an environment where this will embolden Flores. He will certainly receive great empathy from players, and I believe he may have connections,” he says.
The Rooney Rule
According to Rishe, the Miami Dolphins and NY Giants may face scrutiny if Flores’ accusations prove true.
“If, indeed, the Giants had already planned on hiring one coach and merely interviewed Flores as a mere courtesy and to satisfy the letter, not the intent, of the Rooney Rule, then they will likely see a penalty from the league—such as loss of draft pick or picks,” Rishe says. “Additionally, teams in general will be more apt to be more adherent to the intent of the Rooney Rule.”
The Rooney Rule is an NFL policy that requires teams to interview ethnic-minority candidates for head coaching and senior football operation jobs.
“If, indeed, Stephen Ross, owner of the Dolphins, attempted to bribe the coach to lose games for a better draft position, this would be severely punished by the league due to the detrimental impact on the spirit of competition,” Rishe adds. “Penalties could include a large financial penalty, loss of draft picks and a one-year ban from any involvement with the team or from the team’s complex.”
NFL, NBA, and MLB diversity stats
With the firing of Flores and David Culley of the Houston Texans after the 2021 season, Mike Tomlin of the Pittsburgh Steelers is the only remaining Black head coach in the NFL. How does this compare to minority representation among players, assistant coaches, and leadership?
Using data from the Racial and Gender Report Cards from the Institute for Diversity and Equity in Sports and his own head count of NFL coaching staffs, Rishe composed the following statistics on diversity in the NFL:
“So while the representation of Black coaches overall is more than one out of three coaches, the eyesore is the low representation among head coaches,” Rishe says.
“What is more perverse is the lack of minority representation off the field,” he adds.
The NFL is not unique in its lack of representation among head coaches and team leadership, though, as the charts below show.
Source: Washington University in St. Louis
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