Dolphins head coach Brian Flores filing a lawsuit alleging racist hiring practices has opened up a can of worms that show once again that NFL owners have found ways around the Rooney Rule, which was implemented to give minority coaches an actual shot at landing interviews and possible head coaching jobs.
As we saw, some owners are simply bringing in minority coaches after they already made their decisions just so they can comply with the rule.
On Saturday, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell issued a memo to top NFL executives acknowledging a failure to make progress on increasing diversity among head coaches.
“We have made significant efforts to promote diversity and adopted numerous policies and programs which have produced positive change in many areas, however we must acknowledge that particularly with respect to head coaches the results have been unacceptable,” Goodell wrote. “We will reevaluate and examine all policies, guidelines and initiatives relating to diversity, equity and inclusion, including as they relate to gender.”
Goodell did acknowledge legitimate concerns that Flores has addressed in his lawsuit.
“We understand the concerns expressed by Coach Flores and others this week,” Goodell wrote. “While the legal process moves forward, we will not wait to reassess and modify our strategies to ensure that they are consistent with our values and longstanding commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion.”
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It appears the league now knows that Flores’ lawsuit is not actually ‘without merit’ as they previously stated just hours after his lawsuit.
