NFL Scores B- In Latest Racial, Gender Diversity Report Card

The NFL's score for racial hiring improved while its gender hiring score declined and its overall diversity hiring grade dipped slightly in '20, according to the annual report card issued by The Institute for Diversity & Ethics in Sport (TIDES) at the Univ. of Central Florida. The NFL received a combined grade of B- and a score of 79.2, down slightly from its score of 79.3, which also was a B- last year. Its racial hiring score improved from an 82.3 score and a B grade last year to an 85.5 score and a B+ grade this year. However, its gender hiring grade declined from a 76.0 score and C+ grade to a 73.0 and a C grade. The reason for the decline in the overall grade is a much tougher standard, applied to all the leagues for the first time this year which took into account hiring at the team level, as well as the league level, according to TIDES Founder & Dir Richard Lapchick. "We included the grades for the (teams) CEO, president and vice president in all the gender and racial report cards and we knew that was going to bring down every league's grade," Lapchick said. "And that was exactly what happened with the NFL. If that change did not take place, their grade would have actually gone up."

NFL CONTINUES TO EYE IMPROVEMENT: The NFL issued a lengthy statement in response to the report, saying league officials appreciated that it identified areas in which there was improvement, and more importantly, highlighted areas where more could be done. "Diversity, equity, and inclusion are core values of our league; to ensure that we present a leadership at all levels that reflects and supports the extraordinary work that our players and coaches do every day," the NFL stated. "We know, and have said, that we must do more -- not only to improve at particular points in time, but to ensure that everything we do reflects our commitment to these values. The NFL continues to undertake ongoing diversity identification initiatives for both non-football and football personnel to ensure more opportunities for women, Black Americans and other minorities in leadership positions across the league." The NFL has been under fire in the media for the number of Black head coaches. The report gave the NFL a D+ racial grade for head coaches, though it got an A+ for assistant coaches. At the league office, the racial hiring grade was an A+ and the gender hiring grade was a B. At the team level, the racial grade for CEOs/Presidents was a D+ and the gender hiring grade was an F. 

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