As a Giants fan, I can attest to the fact that this past season was one of the most dismal in recent memory.
Why?
Because the Giants were terrible….again. They were one of the worst teams in the league and had both one of the worst overall records, as well as among the very worst endings to the season of any team…again.
Yes, again is the operative word there. If it were one season, it might feel bad, but there would be plenty of hope for the future. I remember feeling annoyed when the Giants completed bombed in 1987, the season after they won their first Super Bowl. But there was a sense that this was a fluke, and that they would be back among the elites soon enough. The 1992 season felt similarly dismal as a fan of the G-Men, because they had gone from Super Bowl champions to mind-numbing mediocrity as quickly as any team had to that point, and it was not obvious that their fortunes ere going to change. However, at least the bulk of their lineup had enjoyed success at the highest level, giving the team and it’s fans (like me) a Super Bowl championship just two seasons earlier.
But this season has just been awful. Not only are they among the very worst teams in the league, with question marks all over the place, from quarterback to offensive line to running back to defense and coaching and even management, but they have been among the worst teams now for five straight seasons. Yes, that’s right. The last time that Big Blue qualified for the postseason was following the 2016 season.
So things look and feel quite bleak at the moment.
The last thing that they need would be a controversy. Yet, that is exactly what happened in recent days, and the story has gotten big enough that it already is transcending mere sports pages, and making wider news.
What happened?
Well, former Miami Dolphins Head coach is alleging racism is what prevented him from obtaining the Head coaching position for the New York Football Giants. If I understand the situation correctly, he had gone on an interview after hearing from Belichick that the vacancy had already been filled.
Not sure what will happen in this case. Time will tell, although this story has already obviously generated considerable controversy and publicity. Not exactly the kind of headlines or being at the center of debate that the Giants or their fans would want, for that matter.
Of course, Giants management had a different take. A statement was released which clarified their official position on the matter:
“We are pleased and confident with the process that resulted in the hiring of Brian Daboll. We interviewed an impressive and diverse group of candidates. The fact of the matter is, Brian Flores was in the conversation to be our head coach until the eleventh hour. Ultimately, we hired the individual we felt was most qualified to be our next head coach.”
During Wednesday’s edition of First Take, noted host and sports pundit Stephen A. Smith was very critical of the Giants organization in this matter. This is what he said:
“Let me say this to the New York Giants. As an organization, when it comes to black coaches, I don’t believe a damn word you have to say. There’s no one more incriminating than the New York Giants when it comes to black coaches. We are in the year 2022. All of these years, damn near a century for crying out loud, there is one single franchise that has not had a black coach. That is the New York Giants.”
Just for the record, in fact, according to a recent MSN article (see link below) where this issue is explored a bit, and from where I took many of the quote in this particular blog entry, there "are six teams that have never hired a Black general manager or head coach on a full-time basis. Although the Giants did have a Black GM — Jerry Reese — they have never had a full-time Black head coach in their history."
Still, Smith's larger point is well-taken. As a Giants fan myself, I cannot help but wonder why the organization never hired a black head coach, which by now puts them in a very small minority of franchises that hold that dubious distinction. Not sure that I would go so far as to suggest that it is systemic racism within the organization at this point, although I also would suggest that the possibility cannot be easily dismissed, given the facts in this case.
Nor is Smith the only one who is taking this story on and suggesting that, yes, this is proof that racism is at work here. Former NBA great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was also very critical, suggesting that the NFL is reflective of the wider United States in this regard. While he suggested that this was not necessarily the product of blatantly racist attitudes, he does believe that is on a deeper, less obvious level which, again, he suggests is a lot like the country itself:
"Brian Flores is suing the National Football League and the only question I have is “What took so long?” I’m not referring specifically to Flores’ lawsuit, but to making public the racism inherent in the NFL like a vestigial limb.
(...) The alabaster ceiling stifles Black ambition and sends a clear message that “your kind” aren’t good enough. Let’s look at the numbers. Despite nearly 60 percent of the NFL players being Black, at the beginning of the 2021 season only three of the 32 head coaches were Black: Pittsburgh Steelers’ Mike Tomlin, Houston Texans’ David Culley and Miami Dolphins’ Brian Flores. At the end of the season, Culley and Flores have been fired leaving only Tomlin as the single Black head coach.
We like to think of sports as the embodiment of America’s best intentions: a level playing field in which merit is the only standard of judgement. As goes sports, so goes America. Unfortunately, the NFL is an $8.78 billion industry and the people who control the money prefer the people who run their business to look more like them. In many cases, it’s probably not even conscious racism, just an unconscious comfort level based on what’s familiar. Mashed potatoes over chitlins. As goes sports, so goes America."
Now, the Giants did have some defenders. Tiki Barber, the former Giants star running back who played for the team in Super Bowl XXXV, took exception to the notion that the management of the franchise is at all racist. In fact, he defended them when the debate came up on his show, Tiki & Tierney on Wednesday:
“I just don’t think that the Maras, who I’ve known for 25 years, are racist,” Barber said, via Big Blue View.
As for NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, he released a rather long-winded statement that reiterated the league's official stance against racism. He praised the league's efforts to be more all-inclusive, although he also was careful to be measured and suggested that the issue was far from resolved. The full statement was, frankly, a bit long, so I just incorporated his concluding point:
"There is much work to do, and we will embrace this moment and seize the opportunity to become a stronger, more inclusive league."
So, what do you guys think? Is this indeed reflective of racist attitude, unconscious or conscious? Or are these charges overblown? Did the Giants truly hire the man who they simply believed was the better option and who would give them the better chance of winning and/or was a better fit for the direction that the organization is trying to go in? Or was this perhaps just one more example of the franchise choosing someone because of skin color?
It will be interesting to see how this story shapes up. And while I obviously wish both Flores and new Giants head coach Brian Daboll well, it will be interesting to see, when the time comes, how much pressure will be on the organization to hire a black head coach the next time around, whenever that issue arises.
Below are links to the two articles - both from MSN - from which I took the quotes used above, and used much of the specific information that was used, as well. Please take a look if you would like to examine this issue a little more closely:
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has a blunt take on Brian Flores' suing the NFL by Ernesto Cova, February 5, 2022:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/kareem-abdul-jabbar-has-a-blunt-take-on-brian-flores-suing-the-nfl/ar-AATtsma?ocid=entnewsntp
Emotional Tiki Barber comes to defense of Giants, owners: They aren't racist by Dan Benton, February 2, 2022:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/emotional-tiki-barber-comes-to-defense-of-giants-owners-they-aren-t-racist/ar-AATpJsV?ocid=entnewsntp
Finally, the quote by Commissioner Goodell was taken from the following source:
Yahoo Sports Roger Goodell sends memo addressing Brian Flores lawsuit: 'There is much work to do' Chris Cwik Chris Cwik Sat, February 5, 2022:
https://sports.yahoo.com/roger-goodell-sends-memo-addressing-brian-flores-lawsuit-there-is-much-work-to-do-162144805.html
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