“They still keep the knee on our necks”: Stephen A Smith talks about the inequities in the NFL’s hiring practices
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Stephen A. Smith
The NFL is a platform innumerable football enthusiasts look up to. The games are watched across the globe and many aspire to get associated with the league. However, from time to time, the league also gets involved in a number of controversies, and the accusation of racial discrimination is definitely one of those.
Former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores recently started the conversation around racial discrimination in the NFL yet again after he filed a lawsuit against the NFL and several franchises. According to the lawsuit, Flores has claimed that even after the implementation of the “Rooney Rule,” racial discrimination has not vanished from the NFL’s hiring process.
“You can’t make owners do what they don’t want to do”: Stephen A Smith
Talking about the same, Stephen A Smith made a few interesting points on First Take. He stated that what happened in the George Floyd murderer case was a metaphor for what people of color believe has been happening with them for centuries. “The proverbial knee on our is keeping us down,” he said.
“When I look at this situation involving Brian Flores, I am saying that if his allegations are true let us focus on the hiring practices of the teams in the NFL. The NFL itself has been trying to enforce the Rooney Rule but you can’t make owners do what they don’t want to do when you answer to them because they are the ones paying you,” he stated.
“As a result, everybody is involved in it, it raises an eyebrow and in the end, we can’t lose sight of the real story even though tanking is a serious issue,” Stephen said, adding that the real story is about the hiring practice in the NFL. He reminded everyone that there is just one black head coach in the NFL in 2022.
He also stated that there are only 4 offensive coordinators in a 32 team league. “It’s a huge problem and we shouldn’t lose sight of that,” Stephen added. It will be interesting to see if the lawsuit results in major changes in the hiring process.
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Shubham Bhargava
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