During a press conference on Wednesday, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell addressed Brian Flores' racial discrimination lawsuit, telling reporters that the league "fell short" in its attempt to increase the number of minority coaching candidates hired this offseason. He also admitted to having no solutions for the NFL's patently flawed hiring practices.
Flores' bombshell lawsuit centers around the NFL's Rooney Rule, which has required teams to interview external minority candidates for high-ranking jobs since 2003. The policy hasn't been effective. At the moment, only five teams are led by a minority head coach, and of the league's 32 owners, not a single one is Black. The NFL is in dire need of change, and Atlanta Falcons longtime owner Arthur Blank understands the glaring issues at hand.
"We keep track of all of our numbers, all of our stats. The league does as well. I think if [Goodell] has to have candid conversations with ownership and front office folks and leadership at the club level, I think he should do it," Blank told the Maggie and Perloff show on Wednesday. "Some clubs are leading the way in that regard, and others are falling behind or haven't made choices. Not just the head coach, but at a variety of positions.
"We have seven Black general managers right now, which is great, because they're typically in that pool of folks making decisions about the next head coach... The result has to change. At the end of the day, it's not acceptable. There can be stories behind each one, whatever else. But the result needs to change, and it really should change -- 70-percent of our players are African American. We ought to have more than three, out of 32, Black head coaches."
Flores' lawsuit details his head-coaching interview processes with both the New York Giants and Denver Broncos. The lawsuit alleges that, last month, the Giants interviewed Flores under disingenuous conditions, as they simply wanted to fulfill the Rooney Rule. Flores also claims that, during 2019, Denver executives showed up an hour late to their scheduled interview, and looking "completely disheveled." Flores accused the Broncos of conducting a "sham" interview. Both teams have refuted Flores' claims.
During an appearance on "CBS Mornings" last Wednesday, Flores discussed his allegations against the league, saying in part, "I'm not the only one with a story to tell. People have come before me, and I know there are others who have similar stories and it's hard to speak out. You're making some sacrifices but this is bigger than football, and this is bigger than coaching."
The entire NFL conversation between Blank and Maggie and Perloff can be accessed in the audio player above. Additional information and details about Flores' lawsuit can be found here.
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