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“He Ain’t Lying”: Roger Goodell’s Comments on Diversity in NFL Riles Up NFL World

Published 02/09/2023, 5:00 PM EST

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USA Today via Reuters

In a progressive step to improve hiring practices and create more opportunities, the league introduced an inaugural of-its-kind accelerator program last year. Although there have been improvements since then, netizens feel that the diversity aspect of the recruitment process is still scarce and that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell should consider this issue seriously. Recently, his comments have made quite a stir in the NFL world.

The disproportionate black vs whites ratio in the front office and coaching staff happens to be evidence of disparities in the hiring process. To narrow down this gap, every year, Goodell takes the opportunity to address this matter. However, this time, fans called out the ignorance and pointed out the lack of such measures.

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Recently, the NFL Commissioner spoke about this issue in the annual press conference ahead of the Super Bowl game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles.

The conference lasted for about 45 minutes, and Goodell answered several questions during this period. Diversifying the upper brass was something that remained a highlighting topic of the entire session.

The NFL Commissioner seemed to cleverly dodge the question by giving a diplomatic answer. Not to mention, he admitted that there is a scope for improvement, emphasizing the recent initiatives. “It’s never enough,” Goodell said. “I still feel like there’s better work and more work ahead of us,” he added.

Meanwhile, according to various reports shared by media houses, around 60 to 70 per cent of NFL players belong to minority groups. However, there is no representation of such groups when it comes to the upper brass.

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Specifically, the head coaching and managerial posts are occupied by other sections of society. In order to fill this void and create a balance, the NFL introduced an accelerator program in 2022. As a possible outcome of this initiative, the Titans hired Ran Cartoon as their General Manager.

Roger Goodell speaks about the importance of diversity

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In the coming years, the league is expected to witness a major revamp in its entire recruitment process. Although there are rules articulated to tackle disproportionate strength, lack of execution and sheer ignorance have played a significant role in this issue.

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Just like every year, Goodell explained the importance of diversity and how various programs stimulate the involvement of new talents in the future. “We had a number of other programs that we put in that I think are going to produce long-term results,” Godell said, per The ProFootballnetwork.

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“We believe diversity makes us stronger. To me, that’s at the core of what we do. We want the changes to be fundamental, sound, and sustainable.” he added. It will be interesting to see how long these promises get successfully accomplished.

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Written by:

Deepesh Nair

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Deepesh Nair is an NFL author at EssentiallySports. Having started his career in journalism as a trending news writer, he has published around 500 articles for various media portals. Although Deepesh comes from a Computer Science background, his fondness for writing has persuaded him to create his career in it.
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Edited by:

Hitesh Nigam