Image Courtesy of the BSA
With one-third of the country watching one of, if not the most, celebrated sports event in America, a huge elephant in the living room needs to be recognized. Even though organizations like the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sports (TIDES) applaud the NFL’s racial hiring practice, there still seems to be a grotesquely apparent lack of racial diversity among NFL franchise majority owners. Quite frankly, there is a lack of racial diversity in several other executive positions within the NFL, but the slowest amount of progress appears to be in franchise ownership. From a historical point of view, whenever the word “owner” and another race of people come into play, eyebrows are sure to be raised; and in this case, the risen brow is warranted.
The NFL employs roughly 1,700 players. The majority of players are persons of color— approximately 68 percent Black/African Americans, 1.1 percent Asian/Pacific Islander and 0.7 percent Latino as of 2014. White players make up less than a third of the league, yet make up a large majority of the three team positions receiving the least amount of tackles or repeatedly abrasive physical contact — quarterback, placekicker and punter.
This is not to create a debate over which race has the dirtiest jersey by the fourth quarter. However, it is worth noting that not only are there racial/ethnic disparities off the field and in the office, but also clear differences of practice on the field. When adding the racial makeup of majority owners into the equation, this image of discrimination intensifies. It hits a little too close to home for the American minorities with histories of being overrepresented on the fields and underrepresented at the White man’s dinner table. As of 2016, only two majority owners are non-white, and six are female. None of the 32 majority owners are either Black/African American or Latino.
As previously mentioned, this perspectives piece is merely written with the intention of bringing an aspect of the league that many fans, myself included, tend to neglect. There are many questions that can follow from the information in this perspectives piece. One of the most obvious might refer to who or what is to blame for the lack of diversity in franchise ownership. Could it be because one must be a billionaire in order to own a franchise? Is it matter of the quantity or interest in investment among black and Latino billionaires?
In a grander scheme of thought, is it fair to say that the players (who just so happen to be predominantly Black/African American) are being physically beaten for the sake of providing a service (entertainment) to a majority White audience, while their owners (who just so happen to be predominantly White) profit off their wounds?
Now this is not to say that things would be better if the league had Black owners to profit off Black players’ wounds; I am simply advocating for more persons of color to have a seat at the White billionaire’s table. All in all, I think it is time for us to turn off the TV long enough, so that we can really address this elephant.
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