"Got a better chance of getting a black woman on Supreme Court" - Charles Barkley grills NFL over lack of African American HCs
NBA legend Charles Barkley is the latest high-profile media figure to call out the NFL over its lack of African Americans in head coaching positions.
The 58-year-old NBA analyst for TNT was on the show Inside the NBA and gave his thoughts on the lack of African Americans holding head coaching positions.
“Did you know that we got a better chance of getting a Black woman on the Supreme Court than we do having a black NFL head coach right now?" Barkley said. “I never thought I’d say that we’re gonna have a Black [woman on the] Supreme Court before we have a Black NFL coach. What a great country we live in!"
Charles Barkley “Did you know that we got a better chance of getting a black woman on the Supreme Court than we do of having a black NFL head coach” https://t.co/a7VJYD5ZWs
While Barkley's comments were made in a light-hearted manner, it remains a concerning fact that out of the 32 head coaching positions in the NFL, only one is occupied by an African American (Mike Tomlin) and two by minority head coaches (Ron Rivera and Robert Saleh).
Charles Barkley's comments come in wake of Brian Flores lawsuit
The former NBA star's comments come after former Dolphins head coach Brian Flores filed a lawsuit against the league and its teams, the New York Giants, the Denver Broncos and the Miami Dolphins, for racism and lack of integrity in hiring practices following his sacking last month.
I commend Brian Flores. Hopefully other black coaches join this lawsuit & there’s change, but how do you change a person’s heart? The old saying is it’s easier to build strong children than to repair broken men. These owners are 60+. They’re set in their ways and aren’t changing. https://t.co/WqWxJreeS8
Flores has made allegations of discrimination during his head coaching interviews with the Denver Broncos and the New York Giants, as well as regarding his firing from the Dolphins. In his accusations, the 40-year-old former coach has also stated that Broncos team executives showed up over an hour late for his interview.
Flores and his team started the year 1-7 through eight games before turning it around, winning seven out of their last eight games to finish with a 9-8 record.
A bombshell lawsuit accuses the NFL of racism in hiring coaches — and now the former coach who filed it is speaking out for the first time on #CBSMornings.
Brian Flores says, “It’s hard to speak out…but this is bigger than football. This is bigger than coaching.” https://t.co/hI92p8rvEd
In the lawsuit that Flores lodged, he claimed that Stephen Ross, the owner of the Dolphins, offered him a financial incentive of $100,000 for each loss in the 2019 season so that the AFC team could get a better hand in the upcoming NFL Draft.
With these allegations now public, it is worth noting that in the 2019 season the Dolphins under Flores finished the year with a 5-11 record.
Flores is aiming to bring the issues in the NFL to light, and many believe he has done so at the expense of his coaching career. It is, indeed, as he stated in his interview with CBS Mornings, "bigger than football."