Journalist gives blunt response to NFL over recent controversies - "More concerned about looking racist than being racist"

The NFL has been heavily criticized this past week after Brian Flores filed a lawsuit alleging racial discrimination in hiring practices for the New York Giants, Miami Dolphins and Denver Broncos.

Franchise ownership, the Rooney Rule and the treatment of minority coaches have all come under scrutiny, and one individual has had enough of the lack of action.

Journalist and writer for The Atlantic, Jemele Hill, believes the NFL isn't concerned with taking actions that will result in change and that they are more bothered about their image. She posted from her personal Twitter account saying:

"A reminder that the NFL is far more concerned about looking racist than being racist."

This is not the first time Hill has shown her feelings towards the league as back in February 2021, she tweeted about their treatment of quarterback Colin Kaepernick, the number of black head coaches and black ownership.

Hill posted:

"In that Inspire Change commercial, the NFL forgot to show the part where they blackballed Colin Kaepernick, have only 3 black NFL head coaches and no majority black ownership."

These tweets are a year apart and they highlight ongoing issues in the league in terms of black and minority head coaches as well as black and minority ownership.

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What has the NFL said about the allegations from Flores and what needs to be changed?

At first, the NFL stated that these allegations were "without merit" but has since released a new statement, saying "the results have been unsuccessful" in terms of coaching diversity in the league and that it will reassess and modify its strategies.

It was quite the turnaround in stance towards this issue, having gone from saying the accusations had no substance to a willingness to modify its strategies in little less than a week.

The league's Rooney Rule was implemented to help increase diversity within the 32 teams and Flores' allegations have highlighted that this may not be working to its desired effect.

Since its implementation in 2003, according to NBC News, 27 out of 127 head coaching jobs have gone to minorities, around 21 percent. Flores also stated in his lawsuit that:

"The owners watch the games from atop NFL stadiums in their luxury boxes, while their majority-Black workforce put their bodies on the line every Sunday."

Currently, there are no black owners in a league where 70 percent of players are black. It is clear that change is needed at head coaching and ownership levels and it is up to the league to find a solution to help give equal opportunities.