The NFL will not be able to hide its Eric Bainimi problem from poetry.
It was announced by the league last week that Amanda Gorman, America’s first young poet winner, whose fierce verse on the nation is surrounded by President Biden’s inaugural salute, will give a prelude poem in the Super Bowl on Sunday.
On the one hand, that’s terrible news. Gorman’s way with words is a tonic that we need right now.
On the other hand, be careful. The pro-football embrace of a young black woman like Gorman – coming to the heels of his sudden, forced support of the Black Lives Matter after the assassination of George Floyd – is part of a public relations campaign that obscures reality.
The NFL now sells itself as a champion for equality. But where change is most needed, it remains stuck in the days before.
Black players make up about 70 percent of the NFL roster, meaning they provide a large portion of the entertainment. Yet whites have power, and do not let go. No black team ownership. Sprinkle of black faces in the upper management. It wasn’t until 1989 that the NFL took on the job of black coach for the first time in the modern era of the league. Not much has changed: now there are three.
The story, or, rather, the embarrassing passing of Bianmi, the aggressive coordinator who helped power the Kansas City Chiefs in consecutive Super Bowls, puts a great point on it. He is the most well-known head-coaching candidate in the small cluster of African-American coordinators in the NFL, and is the most talked about, but he sticks to this side because he chooses to lead the white teammates.
In the recent round of head coach recruitment, there were seven openings. Seven chances for the NFL to stand behind slogans like “End Racism”, which now connects its fields and adorns its helmets. Seven chances, and Biennie closed again.
What more could he do? His team moved towards the NFL playoffs as if their opponents had stick figures. One more win, and he got back-to-back Super Bowl rings.
Star quarterback Patrick Mahoms talks about his every opportunity with Bienni. Chiefs head coach Andy Reed says he is a rare and gifted leader. Given the size of a reed in the NFL, it’s like a blessing from God.
Yet how Reed continues to ignore his second command. “I’m glad I have it, but I’m not very happy with it,” Rede said last week. “I hope he gets a chance at one of these jobs. It will be excellent for any number of teams. ”
So why can’t Binimi get a fair shake?
Nassiers claims he doesn’t call plays. But Reed and Mahoms say that’s not true. And when has it been a hindrance to call plays for white assistants hired to run teams?
The second chorus claims that Binami does not interview or communicate well. But he does belly up while addressing reporters in his quiet, convincing way. Also, plenty of white coaches seem unable to express themselves clearly.
Some say Binami was not hired because of the brushes of the law decades ago – in which he was called racially obscene after a fight at a college lodge and was arrested in 2001 on charges of drunk driving. But the double standard for this adventure is a league notorious for unruly violent misdeeds with its players and a flawless field with its white coaches.
Does BNM, 51, a 15-year-old former NFL assistant player, need some more experience? So how do we explain the league currently in love with a new prototype: the young white coach was trumped for his talent, albeit a little about his dealings. Consider the new coach of the Los Angeles Chargers, 38-year-old Brandon Staley. In 2016, he was an assistant coach at John Carroll University in Division III. Now he has the reins of the NFL team.
Much to the experience when you look like the grandson of an NFL owner.
For a long time, during that usual hire cycle, it seemed like it would be the perfect shutout for a black coach. Then, with one last job available, the Houston Texans hired Baltimore assistant David Cooley.
Coolie is 65 years old. You read that: retirement age, and he’s just got his first lead job in the league. He has been coaching for about 40 years. Does he really take it? Four decades of hard work?
It is important to understand how discrimination changes the way for NFL assistants. But there’s less to worry about: a surprising impact on Black Coach’s ambitions down the pipeline.
Charles Adams is an example.
A few months ago, I wrote about Adams and his journey as an African-American police officer and head coach of Minneapolis North High School. He inherited a struggling team from a difficult part of his city, turned it into a perennial power and won the state title. When you look at the Super Bowl and see Tampa Bay Bookers Rookie Tyler Johnson’s pass through Tom Brad D, know that it was Adams who guided the young receiver through high school and is still his mentor today.
When we spoke recently, Adams told me how he envisioned teaming up at a college lodge and building a staircase from there. Probably a pros and cons. Probably the head coach. why not? Over the years, he applied for an NFL Fellowship that sends black coaches to training camps so they can network and learn. He never received a response.
It’s a shiver. Seeing Biennie constantly ignored is another matter. The message with is awesome. Don’t think too big.
Adams said, “For many of us, it’s ‘why worry?’
It is a neglected tragedy. Ambitious white coaches look to the NFL, see plenty of open roads and keep the charge ahead. The aspiring black coach sees obstacles and dead ends on the road – and often lowers their expectations.
The cycle continues. An American story of an era.
It would be great to see Amanda Gorman reciting poems at the Super Bowl. But when you do, think of Binimi and all the coaches who look like him. Think about their hopes and frustrations – delaying their dreams again and again.
