TWO Black Coaches: Johnnie Cochran Impacts Super Bowl

James Rucker, my co-conspirator on ColorOfChange.org, wrote some poignant words about today's historic Super Bowl. I wanted to share them with you ...

***
James writes: "When I was growing up, football was dominated by Black players, but we weren't allowed to be quarterback. And we certainly couldn't be the coach.

I don't even care much about football, but I can't wait to watch the game this afternoon. Today, America celebrates a first--two Black coaches in the Super Bowl. It may seem like an accident, or the inevitable result of time's passage, but it's not. Like most civil rights gains, it's the result of active struggle.

In 2002, attorneys Cyrus Mehri and Johnnie Cochran Jr. decided that Blacks had been shut out of coaching long enough. They released a report entitled "Black Coaches in the National Football League: Superior Performances, Inferior Opportunities" that called out the NFL's "dismal record of minority hiring." Two facts stood out in the report: 1) while Blacks comprised 70% of NFL players, only 6% of coaches and 28% percent of assistant coaches were Black; and 2) while only six of 400 NFL head coaches hired since 1929 were Black, they significantly outperformed their white counterparts in wins and playoff appearances. Mehri and Cochran threatened a lawsuit, and the NFL agreed to change.

Later that year the NFL adopted the "Rooney Rule," requiring teams to interview at least one non-white candidate for any open coaching position. In 2004, two of the seven vacancies were filled by Black coaches. The Rooney rule did what happy accidents and the passage of time could not--make a dent in race-based discrimination in the NFL.

Today, we've got two black coaches in the Superbowl (and a Black Presidential candidate in the wings), but these are small steps towards a much greater goal of equality and racial justice. Most Black people still have second-class access to quality health care, jobs and education; an increasing number of Black men go to prison instead of college; and Katrina made clear that protecting the lives of Black folks, especially if they are poor, is of little importance to those in power.

Van and I started ColorOfChange because we know that change doesn't happen without a fight, and because we have faith--and great hope--that all of us, together, can keep pushing forward to make major change for Blacks in America.

Today, let's celebrate these two amazing brothers--Lovie Smith of the Chicago Bears and Tony Dungy of the Indianapolis Colts--and pay tribute to those who helped them get to the top of the game. And then tomorrow, let's continue the work of raising our collective voices, applying pressure, and fighting for greater justice for us all.

-- James Rucker, Executive Director, ColorOfChange.org
February 4th, 2007"

***
Well said, James. We know that the late Johnnie Cochran would be very proud of Smith and Dungy, were he still with us today. I just hope all of America is, too.