Broncos coach Vic Fangio: 'I don't see discrimination in the NFL'
As the nation continues to protest the death of George Floyd, an African American man, at the hands of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, some of the NFL's biggest stars including Russell Wilson, Tom Brady, Patrick Mahomes and Richard Sherman, among others, have spoken out against racial discrimination and police brutality. NFL coaches, including Brian Flores, have also made powerful statements, and now Denver Broncos head coach Vic Fangio is speaking up as well.
The 61-year-old has 32 seasons of NFL coaching experience under his belt, and he says the league is one of the most diverse, and that players of all races have no issues mingling and getting along with one another.
“I think our problems in the NFL along those lines are minimal,” Fangio said this week, via ESPN. “We’re a league of meritocracy, you earn what you get, you get what you earn. I don’t see racism at all in the NFL, I don’t see discrimination in the NFL. We all live together, joined as one, for one common goal, and we all intermingle and mix tremendously. If society reflected an NFL team, we’d all be great.”
Several NFL players criticized Fangio's remarks, though, including Seattle Seahawks running back Chris Carson and safety Quandre Diggs.
The NFL always has faced a constant struggle with race relations and just last month modified the Rooney Rule intended to address racial disparities in the hiring of minorities. 70 percent of the players in the NFL are black while a majority of head coaches are white. The league now mandates organizations with a coaching position open to interview at least two minority candidates.
Fangio may also be forgetting the outcasting of former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick who was ousted due to kneeling during the national anthem to protest racism and police brutality. The 32-year-old, despite being better than many quarterbacks currently under contract, cannot find a gig in the league because organizations aren't willing to take a chance on him.
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