While far from brand new, there has been a growing resurgence of calls to do away with the Rooney Rule—from diversity advocates. The rule, which under various guises and iterations has consistently required that teams interview minority candidates for some of the most important positions on the coaching staff and in the front office, has always had its detractors, but observers increasingly note its seeming ineffectiveness in achieving its aim.
The latest advocate to call for an end to the Rooney Rule as we currently know it is actually DeMaurice Smith, the outgoing executive director of the NFLPA. He co-wrote an article outlining what he believes needs to be done to address its shortcomings.
The league has frequently and increasingly acknowledged the obvious reality that the Rooney Rule has not led to the sort of diversification that they expected to see, which is precisely why it seems to get modified every few years. But Smith and his co-author offered several measures they would like to see taken, some more practical than others.
As outlined by Mike Florio for Pro Football Talk, the article indicates that the first step is admitting the Rooney Rule doesn’t work and abandoning it. It also suggests adopting a system of hiring retention and removing all limitations in which employers must seek permission to apply for jobs with other teams.
Among the other suggestions are the formation of standardized job descriptions for the relevant positions, as well as a system of punishments for failure to comply with a standardized evaluation guideline. Perhaps the most popular proposal will be one suggesting the creation of rules that limit nepotism—which could be a problem for the Steelers.
One that I have a hard time seeing happen is the suggestion that all jobs be open for at least 30 days. One that I would like to see happen is a pre-screening process of candidates on a leaguewide basis that helps build a roster of applicants already deemed to meet basic qualifying criteria.
The fundamental problem, the article outlines, is the fact that the league “faces neither shareholder nor consumer accountability”. It adds, “There is no public board of directors, there are no public compliance or audit reports, there are virtually no federal or state mandated public disclosures, nor government operational oversight. All of this should be surprising — and profoundly troubling — given the tax benefits, special antitrust treatment, stadium funding, and other publicly enabled benefits that the NFL and its member teams have enjoyed for generations”.
There is certainly a lot of truth in that. But it’s always going to be a tough sell when it comes to convincing people that employers should have to jump through hoops to hire the people that they want to hire. That is one aspect of this whole idea that is simply never going to go away as long as it’s found that things like the Rooney Rule and whatever might succeed it are necessary.
