Sparkling in a spotlight of progress, the National Football League celebrates its dance with diversity, according to an annual report card from The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport at Central Florida. Swaying to a new rhythm, the NFL high-steps to its highest mark since the studies swung into motion in 1988, with a B-plus overall grade, a pulsating crescendo of change. Balancing gender and racial hiring, the league holds a B-plus and a steady B, respectively, in its performance in the symphony of diversity.
And like in most performances, there remain a few jarring notes sounding awakening alarms, especially in the stately ranks of ownership. But conducting the march to unity, TIDES Director, Adrien Bouchet, confidently assures us that the orchestra of improvements belts largely good news.
Cranking up the volume, the report strikes powerful chords. Nine general managers at the beginning of the soul-stirring 2023 season were people of color, accounting for a harmonizing 30% of the league. Layering this anthem of progress with more melody, the overall population of people of color within the NFL assistant coaching position swelled to an inspiring 43.6%, rising from a previously lower rhythm of 31.8% in 2013 and earning the symphony of change an A-plus grade.
Conducting this symphony of unity, six minority head coaches stepped up to the stand at the beginning of the season; Houston's DeMeco Ryans, Miami's Mike McDaniel, Washington's Ron Rivera, Pittsburgh's Mike Tomlin, Tampa Bay's Todd Bowles, and New York Jets’ Robert Saleh whom we saw passing the baton to Antonio Pierce following Josh McDaniels' departure from the Las Vegas Raiders. This extraordinary crescendo saw the Raiders as the first NFL team to showcase a Black coach, general manager, and team president in one spiraling echo of fulfillment.
The exquisite high notes, riding close to the all-time high of eight achieved in 2011, 2017, and 2018, continued to be sustained within the NFL's league office. The harmonious rise of people of color and women swelled the ranks, creating an energized ensemble that earned an impressive A grade.
Contrastingly, the grand stage offered a dissonant melody, prevalent at the very top. A somber F echoed disappointingly for the racial diversity of the team owners, while a slightly higher D-plus hummed for the group's gender diversity. The discordant refrain reminded us that the NFL has only two people of color with significant ownership interests; the Pakistani-born American businessman, Jacksonville's Shad Khan and Buffalo's Kim Pegula, an Asian-American woman.
Taking up the baton, Bouchet reassures us that despite the dissonant melodies and off-key refrains, we have a good metric here. Is it a challenging symphony to perform? Yes. But the crescendo is on the horizon. While monumental shifts may not be made within a few years, change in this extensive orchestra will indeed take its due time. As the annual report cards fan out like musical sheets on the stands, we watch and wait for the rhythm to take over and unity to truly sing.
