Poe the Raven
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- Mar 16, 2019
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The NFL is hosting an inaugural General Manager Forum this week in an attempt to improve the number of minorities in front office positions, Rob Maaddi of The Associated Press reports.
The league named the virtual forum after Hall of Famer Ozzie Newsome, the Ravens’ former General Manager.
“I think it’s critical, and I’m glad that the league is being intentional about doing it, because all of this work needs to be intentional,” longtime NFL executive Scott Pioli told Maaddi. “In the history of our country, what we’ve done is we have . . . groups of people that have intentionally marginalized folks. So now what we need to do is intentionally create programs and opportunities for people from marginalized groups to advance. So the fact that they’re doing this now or we’re doing this now as part of the NFL to help people advance and get exposure and get educated and become better and be mentored is a fantastic initiative by the league.”
Despite 70 percent of players being minority, the NFL has only four Black General Managers and three Black head coaches.
Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti, Giants owner John Mara, Bills owner Kim Pegula and Black College Football Hall of Fame co-founder James “Shack” Harris also will speak Monday.
A two-day coaching summit follows Tuesday and Wednesday. Buccaneers coach Bruce Arians, Patriots coach Bill Belichick, Chiefs coach Andy Reid, Falcons owner Arthur Blank and Steelers President Art Rooney II are among the scheduled speakers for that, per Maaddi.