News - October 2, 2002
NFL RESPONSE IS ENCOURAGING
Statement by Cyrus Mehri
Mehri & Skalet, PLLC
"Just before this week's Monday night game, Johnnie L. Cochran, Jr. and I issued our report, Black Coaches in the National Football League: Superior Performance, Inferior Opportunities. The report contains a proposal called the Fair Competition Resolution that would require each NFL team to interview a racially diverse final candidate slate for vacant head coaching positions-or opt out by forfeiting a significant draft choice.
NFL spokesman Greg Aiello's response Tuesday was encouraging. We applaud the NFL for taking the issue seriously and acknowledging that there is significant room for improvement. The next step is to formalize reforms to the hiring process so that qualified minority candidates are ensured an opportunity to interview and compete for head coaching positions.
Failing to offer equal opportunity to all qualified candidates denies teams-and most importantly, fans- the best chance of hiring the best possible head coach. NFL fans want the best coach with best chance to win games, regardless of race. That won't happen if NFL teams continue to repeatedly exclude highly qualified coaching candidates such as Marvin Lewis, Sherman Lewis and Art Shell from serious consideration for vacant positions.
While we're encouraged by the NFL's response to Superior Performance, Inferior Opportunities, we do not believe enough progress is being made when the League's players are 67 percent black, coaching assistants are 28 percent black and head coaches are 6 percent black, the lowest percentage in about a decade.
We hope the NFL carefully reviews our report and our proposals. It is time for a new game plan. We believe our Fair Competition Resolution will strengthen the NFL's current playbook to get the job done."
For more information, please contact Tyler Prell or John Carey at 202-518-8047.
The full report can be found at http://www.findjustice.com/ms/nfl/index.html
The Fair Competition Resolution is Exhibit F