Constitutional Law

NFL Struggles To Improve Coaching Diversity, Issue Brief Says

A rule adopted by the National Football League in 2002 to encourage the hiring of minorities for head coaching positions has produced decidedly mixed results, says Douglas C. Proxmire in a new Issue Brief released by ACS. Proxmire, a partner at Patton Boggs LLP, notes that heading into the 2008 season “only six of thirty-two (19%) NFL teams were coached by minorities,” up from two in 2002, down one from 2006. The “Rooney Rule,” named after Pittsburg Steelers’ President Dan Rooney, who chaired a 2002 committee to address minority hires in the NFL, “might appear to be solely about racial diversity in leadership positions within the NFL, but in fact, a discussion of the Rooney Rule involves broader issues that affect not just the NFL, but also other segments of the sports world …,” Proxmire maintains. He writes that more can be done to bolster the effect of the Rooney Rule in the NFL, and urges the adoption of a similar rule in other pro leagues and in college sports.

The Rooney Rule requires NFL teams with head-coaching vacancies to interview one or more minority candidates. Proxmire writes that only one team, the Detroit Lions, has been fined for violating the rule. The rule should be expanded, he writes, to other NFL positions, such as offensive and defensive coordinators, and to allow “non-monetary” penalties to be levied against teams, such as stripping them of draft picks. Proxmire also says other pro leagues and the college sports associations should adopt a measure in the mold of the Rooney Rule.

“Coaching Diversity: The Rooney Rule, Its Application, and Ideas for Expansion,” is available here.

Full post as published by ACS Blog on December 31, 1969 (boomark / email).