KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - APRIL 27: (L-R) Jordan Addison poses with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell after being selected 23rd overall by the Minnesota Vikings during the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft at Union Station on April 27, 2023 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by David Eulitt/Getty Images)
The NFL’s annual accelerator program has been canceled, which has caused people to question if the NFL is truly committed to diversity, equity and inclusion.
The NFL’s annual accelerator program is a diversity initiative that connects qualified diverse candidates in many areas, like coaching and football operations, in front of owners and senior club executives. The program looks to increase diversity in the NFL, provide minority candidates with networking opportunities, and connect them with decision-makers.
The NFL issued a statement last week explaining that the program was stopped for a year to make it better next year. Questions of why they stopped it when they could have kept the program in its current form this year and change it next year are up in the air.
“I realize that people are going to look at this and say, ‘These people are backing off,'” Steelers owner Art Rooney II told USA Today Sports. “That’s not going to happen. There’s nothing I can really do about the perception, except to say that we’re still not satisfied with where we are, and we recognize that we still have work to do.”
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The NFL’s hiring practices for positions like coach and General Manager have been bad over the years. Former Miami Dolphins head coach and current Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores filed a racial discrimination case against the NFL and multiple teams, like the New York Giants, Denver Broncos and the Dolphins.
Since Flores filed his lawsuit in 2022, the NFL has been trying to do a better job with diversity, equity and inclusion. The NFL has a current problem with the program because the program could result in an executive order.
The NFL is being criticized for saying one thing and doing another as it tries to promote diversity while also trying to minimize liability. The NFL’s backtracking is starting to be noticed more and more, and as it continues, the criticism gets louder.
President Donald Trump has made abolishing DEI programs the centerpiece of his administration’s policy objectives.
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