They Ain’t Lion
The NFL fined Detroit Lions president Matt Millen 200 grand today for not interviewing a minority candidate for an open head coaching position. According to the Lions, five minority candidates refused to interview, as they figured Mariucci was a lock for the job, anyway (which he was).
Gene Upshaw, executive director of the NFL Players’ Association, said, “The Detroit Lions gave mere lip service to the agreed-upon minority hiring process.”
Are you kidding me? Wouldn’t offering an interview to a guy just because he’s black in order to circumvent a (well intentioned) rule be “paying lip service?” The Lions were realistic. They knew the guy they wanted, and he was willing to coach the team. No more interviews necessary.
I understand and support the NFL’s desire to attract more minority head coaches, but Millen was talking with Steve Mariucci. If this were a team that didn’t have one specific guy they wanted to coach, the rule makes sense. But they were going after one of the NFL’s most successful coaches. He was going to be hired; why waste other people’s time? Furthermore, why waste black people’s time or falsely inflate their hopes of coaching the Lions, simply because of the color of their skin?
Update: The Lions are ticked, and may be appealing the fine. If that is the case, it will be the only instance of the Lions being appealing all year.