A lot has been made of Mike McDaniel’s racial and ethnic background in recent weeks, and the Miami Dolphins head coach finds it strange that people continue to talk about it.
McDaniel was formally introduced as the new head coach of the Miami Dolphins on Thursday. He said he has seen all of the talk about him “identifying as multiracial” because his father is black and mother is white. He called that “very odd” and said he feels more like others identify him as biracial while he simply identifies as a human being.
You can hear the full comments below.
“It’s weird that it comes up, because I’ve just tried to be a good person,” McDaniel said. “I think my background opens my eyes a little bit. I don’t have any real experience with racism. I think you identified me as something close to — I don’t know. I know my mom experienced it when she married my dad. I know my dad experienced it and that’s in my family. I guess that makes me a human being who can identify with other people’s problems.”
McDaniel answered the question as well as he could have. He understands he qualifies as as a minority hire at a time when much has been made about diversity among head coaches across the NFL. Clearly, he would rather just focus on football.
The Dolphins were named in a discrimination lawsuit that was filed by their previous head coach, Brian Flores, last week. That has placed an even bigger spotlight on the McDaniel hire, but he had a great way of addressing that as well.
More must-reads: