How not to tackle coaching "diversity."
BY DAVID HARSANYI
Tuesday, August 5, 2003 12:00 a.m. EDT
If you think the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to uphold the University of Michigan law school's affirmative action policy was the most contentious decision involving racial preferences in Michigan, you are wrong.
On July 25, in what can only be described as a preposterous ruling, Detroit Lions president Matt Millen was personally fined $200,000 by National Football League commissioner Paul Tagliabue for failing to follow league diversity guidelines and interview a minority candidate before hiring coach Steve Mariucci, a Michigan native considered by most league experts to be the top coaching candidate available.
The Lions, for their part, claim that Mr. Millen made a reasonable attempt to interview five black coaches, but none agreed to any discussions involving the position, knowing full well that Mr. Mariucci was the ideal choice for the job. In fact, many believe former coach Marty Mornhinweg was fired simply so that Mr. Millen could hire Mr. Mariucci. With several teams in the chase for top head coaches, protracted talk and token interviewing could have lost Mr. Millen his top choice: "What bothers me the most is that I tried to be honest about the whole thing," Mr. Millen said. "I could have been less honest and I wouldn't be in this situation. And that's not right."
How honest was Mr. Millen? Not even proponents of the race-based hiring guidelines can argue with his decision based on football merit. Mr. Mariucci's hiring came after two seasons in which the Lions were 5-27 under Mornhinweg--the worst two-year mark in team history. Mr. Mariucci owned a 60-43 record in six seasons with the San Francisco 49ers, where he led the club to three playoff wins in four postseason appearances.
In reality, the Lions' fine was not the result of a legitimate desire for diversity by the league but of pressure from a Detroit councilman named Alonzo Bates, who worked with usual suspects Jesse Jackson and Johnnie Cochran to keep the non-issue alive long enough to convince a fainthearted Mr. Tagliabue to levy the curiously harsh punishment.
Nearly 70% of the players in the NFL are African-American, earning their high salaries based on talent, achievement and hard work. The league has made progress in minority hiring for more than a decade without race-based initiatives. Yet under threats from high-powered shakedown artists like Mr. Cochran and fellow lawyer Cyrus Mehri, the NFL had implemented a comprehensive program to promote "diversity" in its coaching and front-office ranks based on recommendations of the NFL Committee on Workplace Diversity. The plan: Any team with a head-coaching vacancy was required to interview at least one minority candidate. For example, when Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones hired Bill Parcells, winner of two Super Bowls with the Giants, this off-season, Mr. Jones placed a brief telephone call to former Minnesota coach Dennis Green and thus met the interview requirement.
The policy was put in place Dec. 20, 2002, and based on guidelines set forth by the committee's head, Pittsburgh Steelers owner Dan Rooney--a peculiar choice, considering that he may need more help than anyone when it comes to hiring minorities.
By contrast, the Lions, unlike many NFL franchises, have a first-rate history of hiring minorities, both in the front office and on the coaching staff. For example, their past three offensive coordinators have been African-American. Detroit employs blacks at nearly every level of management, this without a compulsory minority hiring policy. Under Mr. Millen, the Lions have 12 blacks in top positions; Mr. Rooney's Steelers, according to their 2002 media guide, have no black executives at all.
Picking on the Lions may also have other damaging effects on the NFL. They happen to be owned by the Ford family, and Ford Motor Co. is one of the NFL's biggest advertisers and the employer of over 350,000 people world-wide. Ford was named the No. 1 Corporation of the Year among American companies by the monthly magazine Diversity Inc., appearing on its list of "Top 50 Companies for Diversity." (Yes, there is a magazine devoted to diversity.) And it is one of the top spenders on TV sports advertising.
Nevertheless, in an attempt to appease Messrs. Cochran, Jackson and Mehri, and to avoid any distasteful protests, the NFL has attacked one of its top advertisers and stained Mr. Millen--from all accounts an honorable professional--as a racist. Ultimately, it seems, the NFL would rather set up black candidates as token interviews for the sake of a failed "race-conscious" hiring process than allow deserving black candidates, of whom there are plenty, to find work based on merit.
While it may just be a coincidence that this ruling involves a team in Michigan, it unmistakably demonstrates the corrosive consequences of affirmative action.
Mr. Harsanyi is a writer and editor in New York.
BY DAVID HARSANYI
Tuesday, August 5, 2003 12:00 a.m. EDT
If you think the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to uphold the University of Michigan law school's affirmative action policy was the most contentious decision involving racial preferences in Michigan, you are wrong.
On July 25, in what can only be described as a preposterous ruling, Detroit Lions president Matt Millen was personally fined $200,000 by National Football League commissioner Paul Tagliabue for failing to follow league diversity guidelines and interview a minority candidate before hiring coach Steve Mariucci, a Michigan native considered by most league experts to be the top coaching candidate available.
The Lions, for their part, claim that Mr. Millen made a reasonable attempt to interview five black coaches, but none agreed to any discussions involving the position, knowing full well that Mr. Mariucci was the ideal choice for the job. In fact, many believe former coach Marty Mornhinweg was fired simply so that Mr. Millen could hire Mr. Mariucci. With several teams in the chase for top head coaches, protracted talk and token interviewing could have lost Mr. Millen his top choice: "What bothers me the most is that I tried to be honest about the whole thing," Mr. Millen said. "I could have been less honest and I wouldn't be in this situation. And that's not right."
How honest was Mr. Millen? Not even proponents of the race-based hiring guidelines can argue with his decision based on football merit. Mr. Mariucci's hiring came after two seasons in which the Lions were 5-27 under Mornhinweg--the worst two-year mark in team history. Mr. Mariucci owned a 60-43 record in six seasons with the San Francisco 49ers, where he led the club to three playoff wins in four postseason appearances.
In reality, the Lions' fine was not the result of a legitimate desire for diversity by the league but of pressure from a Detroit councilman named Alonzo Bates, who worked with usual suspects Jesse Jackson and Johnnie Cochran to keep the non-issue alive long enough to convince a fainthearted Mr. Tagliabue to levy the curiously harsh punishment.
Nearly 70% of the players in the NFL are African-American, earning their high salaries based on talent, achievement and hard work. The league has made progress in minority hiring for more than a decade without race-based initiatives. Yet under threats from high-powered shakedown artists like Mr. Cochran and fellow lawyer Cyrus Mehri, the NFL had implemented a comprehensive program to promote "diversity" in its coaching and front-office ranks based on recommendations of the NFL Committee on Workplace Diversity. The plan: Any team with a head-coaching vacancy was required to interview at least one minority candidate. For example, when Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones hired Bill Parcells, winner of two Super Bowls with the Giants, this off-season, Mr. Jones placed a brief telephone call to former Minnesota coach Dennis Green and thus met the interview requirement.
The policy was put in place Dec. 20, 2002, and based on guidelines set forth by the committee's head, Pittsburgh Steelers owner Dan Rooney--a peculiar choice, considering that he may need more help than anyone when it comes to hiring minorities.
By contrast, the Lions, unlike many NFL franchises, have a first-rate history of hiring minorities, both in the front office and on the coaching staff. For example, their past three offensive coordinators have been African-American. Detroit employs blacks at nearly every level of management, this without a compulsory minority hiring policy. Under Mr. Millen, the Lions have 12 blacks in top positions; Mr. Rooney's Steelers, according to their 2002 media guide, have no black executives at all.
Picking on the Lions may also have other damaging effects on the NFL. They happen to be owned by the Ford family, and Ford Motor Co. is one of the NFL's biggest advertisers and the employer of over 350,000 people world-wide. Ford was named the No. 1 Corporation of the Year among American companies by the monthly magazine Diversity Inc., appearing on its list of "Top 50 Companies for Diversity." (Yes, there is a magazine devoted to diversity.) And it is one of the top spenders on TV sports advertising.
Nevertheless, in an attempt to appease Messrs. Cochran, Jackson and Mehri, and to avoid any distasteful protests, the NFL has attacked one of its top advertisers and stained Mr. Millen--from all accounts an honorable professional--as a racist. Ultimately, it seems, the NFL would rather set up black candidates as token interviews for the sake of a failed "race-conscious" hiring process than allow deserving black candidates, of whom there are plenty, to find work based on merit.
While it may just be a coincidence that this ruling involves a team in Michigan, it unmistakably demonstrates the corrosive consequences of affirmative action.
Mr. Harsanyi is a writer and editor in New York.
