As we celebrate the 25th Anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday as a national holiday it's always interesting to take a look at the progress that African Americans have made in areas of prominence. Sports seems to be the one vocation where performance ultimately dictates a person's success, however, in the areas of authority that equality hasn't necessarily correlated. While football is America's most popular sport, and African Americans comprise 75 to 80 percent of the players in the NFL, there are 6 African American coaches for the 32 teams, a percentage of 19 percent.
The 6 African American coaches in the NFL, while a major accomplishment still leaves some room for improvement. Tony Dungy is the only African American coach to win a Super Bowl, but his legacy within the game will stand forever as he has lead the support for promoting diversity within the league. Two of his former assistants Lovie Smith and Mike Tomlin still have their teams in the mix for winning the big game this year. If Dr. King were living, hopefully he'd be satisfied with the progress that's been made in the NFL.
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1 comment:
I enjoyed your post but I wanted to make a slight correction. Mike Tomlin also won a Superbowl so Tony Dungy is not the only African-American coach to win it all.
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