ESPN’s Bomani Jones On The Dearth Of Black Coaches In The NFL: ‘Don’t Ask Me Why It Looks This Way. Ask Them’
There are only three Black head coaches in the NFL out of 32 teams. After the latest round of hirings all anyone wants to talk about is the “Rooney Rule,” and how we can change things. ESPN’s Bomani Jones has a solution, but it begins and ends with White people.
On Wednesday’s (January 8) episode of his show, “High Noon,” Jones and his co-host, Pablo Torre, were candid about the issues impacting Black candidates vis á vis head coaching jobs.
“At some point, in order for things to change, the guys who run the NFL have to care about what is going on,” said Jones. “And the reason that they should care is not on some kumbaya level where they need to show the world that they care about diversity. The reason that they should care is that: Y’all aren’t good at finding head coaches! … So don’t ask me why it looks this way. Ask them why it looks this way.”
One of the “go to moves” from the “playbook” of the mainstream is to ask Black people how to fix systemic issues of racism.
News flash. It ain’t on us to fix a system we didn’t create whereby we are the primary victims.
It’s on those that currently benefit from this system of white supremacy.
Torre said that perhaps a level of introspection by the owners and general managers of the 32 NFL teams is needed to help combat the issue.
“I’m not asking for them to be introspective, I’m asking for them to stop,” Jones replied. “Even if you can’t figure out why it is that you are that way, you have demonstrated that you are. Why don’t you change something?”
You can’t make it any simpler than that.
When talking about matters of race there is always a conscious or subconscious reflex to couch what is said to assuage the feelings of White people. Who are often offended at being called “White people” or being thought of as racist. But Jones says that needs to stop if we’re ever going to fix the problem.
“We’re not going to get to the bottom of this—or any other issue that matters with race—as long as we keep centering the feelings of White people when we talk about this. And if we keep talking about this in a way where we’re just trying not to hurt people’s feelings, then nothing is ever going to get done because the only way to fix this is to hurt people’s feelings.”
True change and growth are always preceded by periods of discomfort.
