“The owners don’t seem to give a damn” - Stephen A. Smith is fine with government intervention to bring equality in NFL
Stephen A. Smith has never shied away from speaking out against racial injustices in the NFL. Amidst Brian Flores' class-action lawsuit against the NFL for racial injustice in their hiring process, Smith has spoken about these issues often on ESPN's First Take broadcast.
There was a new update in the NFL's attempts to address its lack of diversity on Tuesday. Commissioner Roger Goodell met with civil rights leaders who called for the Rooney Rule (which requires NFL teams to interview one minority candidate for their head coaching vacancies) to be replaced.
Stephen A. Smith had this to say on the matter:
“In the end, what I really want to focus on is the fact that a group of civil rights leaders, you know, call for replacing the Rooney Rule when they met Monday with Commissioner Roger Goodell. What we have to remember and what people have to pay attention to, is that there’s inequality that is being exercised in the National Football League in the year 2022. You know, on so many occasions as a society, we look at things and we say, ‘aren't we getting better, isn't it not? Isn't it different than what it used to be in a very positive way?’ Regardless of the trials and tribulations that we experience as a nation, there's a lot of credence to that argument in a lot of different ways."
Smith is of the mindset that things don't necessarily always get better as time moves on. He continued with his rant:
"Not when it comes to the NFL. And the fact that the NFL is the number one sport in North America making gobs and gobs of money with 30 White owners, not a single black owner. And on top of it all, you have owners literally ignoring a rule that they okayed implementation of in 2003. And 19 years later, you are clearly taking a step backward. And they don't seem to give a damn, America needs to understand what the owners are saying is ‘we really don't care what you think. We're making money. We're gonna continue to make money because y'all ain't going nowhere. So y'all can make all the noise y'all want because we can still live fat and happy.’"
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and senior league staff met virtually for an hour Monday with civil rights leaders — including Rev. Al Sharpton — who called for the replacement of the Rooney Rule in light of ongoing racial disparities in hiring.
Statement from @NFLprguy: https://t.co/e37VMUggeP
Stephen A. Smith makes an excellent point that it's easy to fall into a trap in our society of believing things are better than they used to be.
He continued by discussing the fact that the NFL has 30 white owners and just two minority owners (neither of whom are African-American).
Smith believes as long as the NFL and its owners are making money, they'll be content with the status quo.
As tragic as it is, NFL ownership has failed to see the need for change over the years. Stephen A. Smith concluded his statement with what's required for change, citing government intervention as an example.
"And that's why I don't mind the fact that civil rights leaders have gotten involved." Smith said. "Because it's an issue of inequality that needs to be addressed. And the league has tried their best to rectify it. But clearly, the strong arm that they have ain’t strong enough to influence the owners they work for. And so to me, this is the first step. And as far as I'm concerned, if it doesn't change, I wouldn't be opposed to government intervention to bring attention to the level of inequality that NFL owners are exercising.”
Stephen A. Smith is among those leading the charge for change amidst NFL ownership
Stephen A. Smith has spoken out regularly against the low representation of minorities in the NFL.
Especially in ownership, where Shad Khan of the Jacksonville Jaguars and Kim Pegula of the Buffalo Bills are the only minority owners in the league.
Flores' lawsuit has shed new light on the situation. Fans, the media, and the general public have been made aware of what's going on in the NFL.
It's a situation that's not likely to go away anytime soon.