Service + Solidarity Spotlight: Smith: ‘NFL Needs Collective Action, Transparency to Improve Diversity’

Working people across the United States have stepped up to help out our friends, neighbors and communities during these trying times. In our regular Service + Solidarity Spotlight series, we’ll showcase one of these stories every day. Here’s today’s story.

On Sunday, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell called the organization’s lack of progress in hiring and retaining diverse executive talent “unacceptable.” In response, NFL Players Association (NFLPA) Executive Director DeMaurice Smith wrote a powerful column that provides a path toward greater diversity among the highest levels in the sport.

“The NFL’s admission of its problem regarding diversity and its willingness to adopt systemic solutions are two different things,” Smith wrote in Sportico. “All of this exists because NFL clubs do not want accountability, they want autonomy. Accordingly, they reject transparency, and as a result a person’s last name has a greater impact on hiring decisions than qualifications.”

Click here to read the full column.