“One Man’s Opinion” by Gordon Curvey

Hope everyone is well. And thanks for reading my article. Ladies and gentlemen sports radio KJR and 710 ESPN here in Seattle will not touch this story,

The story is Major League Baseball and the National Football League has a severe problem and that is African Americans are not being hired as managers and head coaches. The question is why? Why is this going on here in 2023,

Currently their is ONLY two African American managers in MLB. Both are former guests on my sports program “Sports Inner City TV,” Dusty Baker of the Los Angeles Dodgers and the manager of the World Series champions Houston Astros, Dusty Baker.

In the NFL, it is worse when it comes to African American head coaches. Readers their is a grand total of ONE African American head coach. Let me say this again. There is ONLY one African American head coach in the NFL. Mike Tomlin of the Steelers.

WHY is the lack of African American managers and head coaches going on? It starts with the owners in the two sports. In which their is ZERO African American owners. ZERO. Is the Rooney Rule in the NFL working? The answer is NO readers it is not working at all!

Are owners of teams in the NFL and MLB afraid to hire African Americans to lead their teams? It seems that way. African Americans are being passed over time and time and time again. WHY?

Here is a few examples. First Eric Bieniemy. He WAS the OC for the champions Kansas Chiefs until just the other day. When for some reason, he was just named the OC of the Washington Commandoes. Maybe he took that job because he can now call his own plays.

But I am sorry, Eric Bieniemy SHOULD BE A HEAD COACH IN THE NFL!! Word is he does not “interview well.” This is BS ladies and gentlemen.

Head coaches with much less qualifications than Eric are being hired as head coaches in the NFL so this is as I said BS!! Head coaches who are not African American in a sport where 75% of the players on the field are African American!! This is wrong.

Guys like Jim Caldwell and Leslie Frazier are being passed over for head coaching positions so again why is this going on?

Look at Caldwell. He did well as head coach of the Detroit Lions. He should have NEVER been fired from the Lions. And since he was fired, many head coaching opistions have came open BUT was Caldwell hired? NO!  This is wrong.

The legendary Michael Wilborn went off on ESPN the other day about Caldwell not getting for a head coaching position. I agreed with Wilborn 1000%.

He said higher ups with NFL teams are NOT telling the truth about following the Rooney Rule in hiring of African American head coaches flat out not telling the truth. Sorry to say, white guy after white guy after white guy are being hired over African American candidates.

Diversity and inclusion is NOT happening when it comes to hiring of African American head coaches in the NFL and MLB.

The Rooney Rule has been around for 20 years. Yes there has been improvement in front offices of NFL teams. 25% of teams in the NFL has had a African American general manager or President of football operations. But as far as head coaches? It ain’t happening for African Americans in the NFL.

DeMaurice Smith, the Players Association executive director has said the Rooney Rule has been a suggestion rather than a requirement that NFL teams has to interview African Americans when a head coaching position opens up.

It is a fact ladies and gentlemen that NFL teams owners are doing the bare minimum to try to follow the Rooney Rules because look at how many African American head coaches have been hired the last 20 years! It is a outrage that team owners who we already know are not black, are playing a game with possible NFL head coaches who are black. A outrage.

The Rooney Rule has in place that any NFL team that does not interview black guys will be fined $200,000.

Well since then no NFL team has been fined. That is because as I said, owners are playing a game by just saying “Oh let’s interview a black dude so we will not be fined.” That is what is REALLY going on sports fans. A game by the owners.

One thing for sure is this, the Brian Flores class action lawsuit against the NFL IS NO JOKE!! He means business!! Flores was fired as a head coach and then said hold on, something ain’t right ladies and gentlemen.

And Flores went to work on his class action lawsuit. His lawsuit says that NFL teams are conducting sham interviews only for the sake of complying with the Rooney Rule and the lawsuit also accused management and front offices of not conducting interviews in good faith and creating a stigma that interviews of African American candidates are only being done as a formality. As I said this lawsuit is no joke.

Readers the facts are NFL teams have to have MEANINGFUL  interviews to increase diversity among head coaches in the NFL! Owners right now as I type this, had plenty of chances to hire a African American head coach, BUT THEY DID NOT!! White guys have been hired, and black guys are not hired. Plan and simple. I am NOT playing the “race card” I am telling you what is really going on in the NFL. Pure facts!!

MLB is not better. Only two African American managers. Again only ONE in the NFL, Mike Tomlin.  Why is Dusty Baker and Dave Roberts the ONLY African American managers in MLB? Why is this happening?

How come Barry Larkin has not been hired? How come Jerry Manuel has not been hired? How come former Seattle Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon has not been given another chance as a manager? How come  Hal McRae has not been hired as a manager? How come Mookie Wilson has not been hired as a manager? How come Bo Porter has not been given another chance to be a manager?

How come Max Venable has been hired to be a manager? How DeMarlo Hale has not been hired as a manager? How come Darnell Coles has not been hired as a manager?

How come UL Washington has not been hired as a manager? How come Ron Washington has not been given another chance to be a MLB manager? How come Frankling Stubbs has not been hired as a manager in MLB? How come RJ Reynolds has not been hired as a manager?  How come Jimmy Lyons has not been hired as a manager? How come Derrel Thomas has not been hired as a manager?

I can go on readers. Do you get my point? Something is VERY VERY wrong in MLB when it comes to hiring a African American manager. As in the NFL, pure and simple. As in the NFL, I have to say white guys are being hired while MANY MANY black guys are passed over.

As in the NFL, IT IS A OUTRAGE!! I feel ex MLB black players like former guest on my “Sports Inner City TV” webcasts Reggie Jackson and Derek Jeter and other black guys should SPEAK UP!!

Make their voices heard! Also former guests on my “Sports Inner City TV” webcasts, Baker and Roberts SHOULD NOT be the only African American managers in MLB. Having said that, MLB has to do a BETTER job in reaching young inner city African American youth.

African American youth turn to football and hoops by age 12. Do not believe me? In ANY major city in the United States go to a high school baseball game or a college baseball game.

And look at the make up of the team. It will be almost 100% white. MLB does a TERRIBLE TERRIBLE job in trying to reach young inner city kids. I will say it again…TERRIBLE! Look on TV ladies and gentlemen. You will see what I mean.

I just see Derek Jeter and Frank Thomas, both ex players doing any type of commercials on TV unlike MANY MANY current/ex NBA-NFL players like Aaron Rodgers, Pat Mahomes, Shaq, Barkley, Damian Lillard, Kevin Garnett, Reggie Miller, Kevin Durant, Lebron, Anthony Davis.

Also I see Joe Montana, Yannis, James Harden, Joe Namath and more. Heck I even see Serena and Rickie Fowler. I see ZERO current MLB stars.

So young African American kids most likely will not grow up and want to be a manager in MLB or a head coach in the NFL. Why you ask? Because they do not see them on the field except for Tomlin, Baker or Roberts. THIS IS SAD, THIS IS WRONG!!

Comments: gcurvey@yahoo.com  or Facebook at facebook.com/gordon.curvey or via Twitter twitter.com/gcurvey