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Shell becoming the first black
coach since Fritz Pollard in the 1920s was what started this progression of more diversity within the coaches (and assistant coaches) of the NFL. Since he
became a head coach 25 years ago, the number of black coaches had been, for the
most part, increasing. In 2006, 22% of coaches were black; in 2001, the NFL
reached their highest percentage yet -- 25%. However, in 2014, there is now only
6%. What could have caused the percentage to drop so much in just 3 years? The
percentage of black football players, on the other hand, is currently around
70%. Could it be similar to people having the mindset when slavery was legal in America that blacks are inferior in intellectual areas and, more recently, better suited to certain sports rather than being a coach because they are, as Dean Cromwell said, “closer to the primitive”? What do you think?
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ReplyDeleteI personally believe that this organization does not have a mindset like that, especially when majority of the organization is black. There are many well known and respected African American players in the NFL Hall Of Fame, such as Jerry Rice, Jim Brown, and Walter Payton. Many of these individuals are well known and well respected due to their performance on the field and knowing the game like the back of their hand. I believe its because the African Americans don't value the position of becoming a coach as much as the Whites. If more African Americans worked to become coaches in the NFL I believe the number of African American NFL coaches would increase
ReplyDeleteI would say how the organization is actually quite the opposite then that. I mean If you look at it over what 90% of the NFL is african american. And If you look at the african american hall of famers that are loved today such as Deacon Jones, Warren sap, Jerry rice etc.
ReplyDeleteI do not believe that there is still the idea of blacks are inferior to whites when it comes to intelligence. We are in a time in our world now where 99% of people are accepted. If there was the white superiority in intelligence, then why are there so many emerging black football quarterbacks. If this superiority thing was still true then don't you think that there would not be as many blacks playing quarterback?
ReplyDeleteI believe the NFL does not have a mindset like that because the league is made up of mostly african americans. This relates to the Civil War when the North had black soldiers but had no black generals.
ReplyDeleteThank you all for your input, you brought up some very good points. I think it is clear that the NFL does not discriminate when it comes to race, and now that Seneti brought it up, it seems plausible that perhaps African Americans don't value being a coach as much as whites might.
ReplyDeleteAlso, in response to Gabe's question -- I was thinking of it in terms of two separate positions, but I see your point, and I think that the idea of white superiority has definitely had a drastic decrease.
While the stereotype of blacks being inferior to whites still exists in some people's minds, I don't think that this mindset exists in the NFL. Many football players are black, and they are respected in the eyes of football fans across the nation. Some of them are even in the hall of fame.
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