The NFL has a race problem

Lawsuits against the NFL from players and coaches agree

Megan Valadez / Asst. Opinion Editor / The USD Vista

Last month’s halftime show, which highlighted six Black hip hop artists, was one of the most influential and politically impactful performances to exist. Discourse and conversations surrounding the halftime show helped me realize a much bigger picture: major racial issues are still at hand in the National Football League (NFL) and Black bodies are still treated unequally.

A significant portion of the NFL’s fan base has reacted negatively to the endless protests during games, arguing that the NFL has become “too political.” Some say the stadium is no place for political protest and to protest football is to protest America. To that, I would argue that the stadium is a great place for political protest. Football teams around the nation have players who face racism and brutality in their own lives. Minority coaches and other staff have also been disproportionately affected because of their race.

The NFL is currently facing explosive allegations of racial discrimination and corruption made in a class action lawsuit filed on Feb 1. by former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores on, who was recently fired by the team. He is accusing the league of discriminatory hiring practices.

The lawsuit notes that “32 owners – none of whom are Black – profit substantially from the labor of NFL players, 70% of whom are Black.” Simply put, there is not enough representation of people who look like the players in head coaching positions, in general manager roles, and in executive positions in the NFL. Clearly, the system is broken within the NFL in regards to hiring minority coaches and people in positions of power.

20 years ago, the NFL introduced the Rooney Rule, which states that all teams must give at least one interview to a minority candidate for coaching and general manager positions. Though this looks like the Rooney Rule was a step in the right direction, Black coaches have long complained that they are called in for interviews just to comply with the rule, not because they were considered serious candidates.

In filing this lawsuit, Flores realizes he is risking his future in coaching in the NFL. Flores wrote in his lawsuit statement that he hopes that “by standing up against systemic racism in the NFL, others will join me to ensure that positive change is made for generations to come.”

Flores is not alone — the NFL has a history of systemic racism. From 1934 to 1945, the NFL decided to ban all Black players from the league by simply refusing to sign or draft any of them. In 1946, the Cleveland Rams moved to Los Angeles and were forced to integrate at least one Black player in order to comply with, Plessy v. Ferguson  which banned segregation in places of public accommodation.

For decades, the NFL also refused to give Black quarterbacks playing  opportunities. Even if a Black quarterback was more talented, the NFL drafted a less talented White player. It took up until the 80’s for teams to accept Black players for quarterback positions.

More recently, Colin Kaepernick accused the NFL of intentionally refusing to sign him based on his history of on-field demonstrations against police brutality and other societal issues. In 2017, NFL owners publicly endorsed former President Donald Trump’s opinion that a player who protests racial injustice is a “son of a [expletive].” From that time forward, no team would sign Kaepernick for any role, despite his well-known skills and experience in the NFL.

Viewership of the NFL has fluctuated over the last five years, beginning when former President Trump began publicly criticizing NFL players for kneeling in protest during the national anthem. In the summer of 2020, players spoke out on the field and on social media about systemic racism and police brutality which resulted in new social justice demonstrations planned for the 2020 season, which included the stenciling of “End Racism” on fields and stickers on players’ helmets. The league’s net favorability rating among Republicans fell very low in 2020.

Fan opposition to the NFL’s new social justice additions were on full display during the regular season’s opening night, when fans at the Kansas City Chiefs vs. the Houston Texans game booed a pregame moment of silence dedicated to the “fight for equality” coming months after the murder of George Floyd.

This year’s halftime show caused even more disruption and was deemed “very politically encouraging” by many viewers and right-wing politicians. The true battles of the show were between censorship and protest.

The National Football League is the country’s biggest and most popular sports franchise. This year, 112 million people tuned in for the Super Bowl and the halftime show and it was broadcasted to over 130 countries. It was also the first halftime show dominated by Black hip hop artists who did not censor themselves when it came to politics and racism.

Super Bowl performer Kendrick Lamar sang the words to the only explicitly political song in the set. The line “and we hate the po-po; wanna kill us dead in the street for sure…” was censored, despite Lamar being the first rapper to win the Pulitzer Prize for his couplets in his song DNA from his album “DAMN.,” about police brutality back in 2018.

Eminem took a knee at the end of Lose Yourself, which was an unmissable shout-out to Colin Kaepernick and the Black Lives Matter Movement. Dr. Dre also did not censor his lyric “still not lovin’ police” in his song Still Dre.

Just because the NFL finally decided to open their eyes and see that hip hop is just as much America’s music as any other genre, it does not mean that all football fans enjoyed the performance and the politics behind it.

Being a Los Angeles native and growing up with parents who loved West Coast rap, I loved the halftime show. The performance was important amidst the past and current racism of the NFL and just further proves that the sport needs to accept all races equally.

While it is important to acknowledge that the Super Bowl halftime show was a good night for hip hop and Black culture, it is also important to realize that the NFL still has major racial issues and Black bodies are still treated disproportionately. History hasn’t just repeated itself – it simply hasn’t ended. Racism is not a thing of the past. Segregation and discrimination are not acts of the past.

The  NFL needs to take coaches of all races seriously when considering them for positions. They need to diversify their administration and executives because we can no longer have rich, white people calling all the shots. NFL, do better, for the sake of your players, coaches, and fans of all races.