Thursday, March 28, 2024

Marvin Lewis on NFL Minority Hiring Proposal: ‘Like Having Jim Crow Laws’

marvin lewis

*Former Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis has weighed in on the NFL’s proposed minority hiring incentives, calling them “offensive.”

As noted by TMZ, NFL owners reportedly planned to vote on a proposal that would reward teams if they had hired a minority GM or coach.

According to Sports Illustrated, “the plan would allow teams to jump six spots in the third round for hiring a minority head coach. A team would jump 10 spots by hiring a person of color as its general manager,” the outlet writes. 

“It was offensive, definitely offensive,” Lewis told The Baltimore Sun on the NFL’s proposal. “It was like having Jim Crow laws.”

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Amid the backlash, the league scrapped the incentive program.

There are currently three Black head coaches in the NFL and just two Black general managers. 

Teams will now be required to interview at least two Black (or Latino) candidates for head coach openings, and at least one for coordinator jobs, according to the report. 

“This will be a plus requiring more than one minority to be interviewed because it will cause them to take a deeper dive,” Lewis said. “This will allow more minorities more opportunities.”

As for rewarding teams with draft picks? 

“Draft picks are like gold,” Lewis said. “That doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. As a head coach, no one wants to be hired or put in that position.”

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