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- Mar 19, 2019
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While getting a chance to see the home war rooms of draft decision-makers was a novel experience for most people, it became frustrating over the weekend for Rod Graves.
Primarily, because very few of the faces he saw on his television screen looked like his.
The executive director of the Fritz Pollard Alliance — which pushes for diversity in hiring of coaches and General Managers — told Jarrett Bell of USA Today that seeing the 2020 NFL Draft unfold was a reminder of progress stalled.
“To see where we are today where there are only a few [people of color] in the role of decision-makers is heartbreaking,” Graves said. “I want the league to do better, to live up to its potential.”
With only two black General Managers (Cleveland’s Andrew Berry and Miami’s Chris Grier) and four minority head coaches (Washington’s Ron Rivera, Miami’s Brian Flores, the Chargers’ Anthony Lynn, and Pittsburgh’s Mike Tomlin), it was a reminder to Graves that his organization had a lot more work to do to encourage the NFL to expand the hiring pool.
Graves, a former Cardinals G.M. who also worked at the league office, called it “shameful” to see where the NFL is now.
“We’ve been talking about this topic for so long,” he said. “When it comes to diversity, you ask, ‘Do enough of the owners care?’ The league has demonstrated that this is not a priority for them. . . .
“To me, it takes you back to a time in civil rights history when we were used for the production of business and didn’t have the opportunity to participate in management and decision-making roles,” Graves said. “I know this period is different than the ‘60s, but how much has really changed? We’re still grappling with issues of racial equality.”
He acknowledged some progress made in terms of quarterbacks and expanding the pipeline of assistants into roles that lead to head coaching jobs, but seeing all the decision-makers on television this weekend reminded him how far the still NFL has to come.