Contribution to Book
When the Law Won’t Work: The US National Football League’s extra-judicial approach to addressing employment discrimination in coaching
'Race', Ethnicity and Racism in Sports Coaching
(2020)
Abstract
Part III: Formalised racial equality interventions in sports coaching
Chapter 11. When the Law Won’t Work: The US National Football League’s extra-judicial approach to addressing employment discrimination in coaching
The Rooney Rule story teaches the importance of the opportunity to get into the proverbial room to make one’s case, but it also teaches the importance of creative approaches to encouraging equal opportunity. While a lawsuit can be a powerful tool in this realm, various circumstances may thwart its use. An employment discrimination claim for a head coach of a professional sports club presents a unique circumstance. The nature of the National Football League (NFL) coaching employment context rendered Title VII, the United States’ bell-weather employment discrimination statute, essentially inapplicable. Like Coca-Cola, the NFL was widely regarded as a conservative organization, and like Coca-Cola, the power positions in the NFL – including head coach – were overwhelmingly white. Mehri believed diverse candidate slates were well suited to the NFL context and anticipated they could assist in diversifying the NFL’s head coaching ranks just as they had diversified Coca-Cola’s executive ranks.
Keywords
- Sports law,
- Rooney Rule,
- NFL
Disciplines
Publication Date
July 6, 2020
Editor
Steven Bradbury, Jim Lusted, Jacco van Sterkenburg
Publisher
Routledge
Series
Routledge Critical Perspectives on Equality and Social Justice in Sport and Leisure
ISBN
9780367426699
DOI
https://doi.org/10.4324/9780367854287
Publisher Statement
In recent years there has been a steady increase in the racial and ethnic diversity of the playing workforce in many sports around the world. However, there has been a minimal throughput of racial and ethnic minorities into coaching and leadership positions. This book brings together leading researchers from around the world to examine key questions around ‘race’, ethnicity and racism in sports coaching.
The book focuses specifically on the ways in which ‘race’, ethnicity and racism operate, and how they are experienced and addressed (or not) within the socio-cultural sphere of sports coaching. Theoretically informed and empirically grounded, it examines macro- (societal), meso- (organisational), and micro- (individual) level barriers to racial and ethnic diversity as well as the positive action initiatives designed to help overcome them. Featuring multi-disciplinary perspectives, the book is arranged into three thematic sections, addressing the central topics of representation and racialised barriers in sports coaching; racialised identities, diversity and intersectionality in sports coaching; and formalised racial equality interventions in sports coaching.
Including case studies from across North America, Europe and Australasia, ‘Race’, Ethnicity and Racism in Sports Coaching is essential reading for students, academics and practitioners with a critical interest in the sociology of sport, sport coaching, sport management, sport development, and ‘race’ and ethnicity studies.
Citation Information
N. Jeremi Duru. "When the Law Won’t Work: The US National Football League’s extra-judicial approach to addressing employment discrimination in coaching" 1st Edition'Race', Ethnicity and Racism in Sports Coaching (2020) Available at: http://works.bepress.com/jeremi-duru/37/