Drew Brees, Vic Fangio, and the power of being white in the NFL
We as a country are currently in difficult times, but it feels like we are at a pivotal moment and crossroads in our nation’s history in the wake of George Floyd’s death.
Floyd—an African-American man—was killed May 25 while in the custody of Minneapolis police when Officer Derek Chauvin knelt on Floyd’s neck for almost nine minutes as three other police officers watched.
All four police officers have been fired and charged. Chauvin has been charged with second-degree murder, while the other three officers have been charged with aiding and abetting murder.
Floyd’s is just the latest murder of an unarmed black person at the hands of law enforcement or other civilians across the nation. Floyd’s murder has sparked demonstrations and protests in cities across the U.S. to draw attention to issues such as systemic racism and police brutality.
While sports have remained all but halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the sports world has not kept silent or “stuck to sports” in the wake of Floyd’s murder. Many athletes, coaches, and teams have either issued statements condemning the murder of Floyd or taken to the streets and peacefully protested.
While most athletes and coaches have actively used their platforms to call for change and reform, some have, well, swung and missed.
One who most notably missed the ball was New Orleans Saints’ quarterback Drew Brees.
In an interview with Yahoo! Finance earlier this week, Brees was asked about the possibility of NFL players kneeling again during the national anthem this upcoming season as a means of peacefully demonstrating. And he had this to say…
“I will never agree with anybody disrespecting the flag of the United States of America or our country.”
“Is everything right with our country right now? No, it’s not. We still have a long way to go. But I think what you do by standing there and showing respect for the flag with your hand over your heart is it shows unity. It shows that we are all in this together. We can all do better, and that we are all part of the solution.”
Not surprisingly, Brees was roundly criticized for his comments amid the current tenor of the nation. Teammates and other NFL players were among the many who teed off on Brees, and rightfully so.
The future Hall of Famer was extremely tone-deaf at a time when African Americans across the nation are calling upon their white brothers and sisters to speak out and stand up against racial injustice. It was certainly the most disappointing moment of Brees’ off-the-field career, which has included numerous charitable and philanthropic efforts. And he deserved to be bashed for being judgmental of others who don’t hold the same belief system as he.
What made it so disappointing was that it was completely out-of-touch with the very city that the 41-year-old has called home since 2006: New Orleans. Roughly 60% of the city’s population is African-American, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. For someone who has given back and done so much to help out New Orleans during his career, wouldn’t he think first before saying something like that?
Brees’ opinion showed that he truly didn’t understand why former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick began kneeling during the national anthem in 2016. Or, he just didn’t want to accept anything else as a worthy explanation.
It was never about the flag for Kaepernick and other players who took a knee during the Star-Spangled Banner. It was about protesting the racial inequalities that African Americans have experienced in this country for their entire lifetime.
It’s just unacceptable that someone as educated and smart as Brees would not seek out to understand the true meaning of the demonstration. But again, maybe he just didn’t want to—which may be even more shameful on his part.
But what might be the worst aspect is that Brees doesn’t understand the power and privilege that he has as a white quarterback and leader in the NFL. Despite the fact that the league’s players are predominantly African-American, the two most-prominent people on the field during a game (the head coach and quarterback) are more often than not white men.
For most NFL teams, the head coach and quarterback are the faces and leaders of the organization and the franchise. Only three head coaches—Brian Flores of the Miami Dolphins, Anthony Lynn of the Los Angeles Chargers, and Mike Tomlin of the Pittsburgh Steelers—are black.
Coming into the 2020 season, whenever it actually begins due to the coronavirus outbreak, as many as 10 (according to my calculations) African-American quarterbacks could be starters—five in each conference. Which means at least 22 starting jobs will belong to white quarterbacks.
When you’re asked to rattle off the greatest quarterbacks ever, who do you mention first? Brady, Manning, Favre, Montana…What do they each have in common? Other than their greatness, each of them is white.
The NFL 100 All-Time Team, not surprisingly, didn’t include a single black quarterback, and NFL.com’s rankings of the greatest quarterbacks of all-time in 2019 didn’t mention an African-American quarterback until №18—Russell Wilson.
Additionally, the NFL 100 All-Time Team did not include a single African-American head coach, and the first that come to mind when naming the greatest ever are white: Belichick, Shula, Lombardi, Walsh, etc.
The point is, Brees doesn’t grasp the influence, power, and privilege that he has as a white male in the NFL to bring about change. Given the position he plays and how recognizable he is both inside and outside of football, his words carry more weight than just about every other current player’s does outside of Tom Brady and possibly Aaron Rodgers.
He had a chance to unite people, and instead, he chose to divide. It’s things like this that push locker rooms apart rather than together.
But this was a good lesson and wakeup call for Brees. Whenever he’s done tossing touchdown passes in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome for the Black and Gold, which could be following the 2020 season, Brees is expected to join NBC Sports as a color commentator and analyst for both the NFL and college football.
Eventually, Brees will likely become the successor and heir apparent to Cris Collinsworth in the Sunday Night Football booth. With that will come even more exposure and a larger platform, and thus more criticism and expectations thrown his way.
Brees won’t have to come up with an answer for everything, but it’ll have to be better than what he said here.
Unfortunately, Brees wasn’t the only NFLer to miss the mark.
Denver Broncos’ head coach Vic Fangio was asked by reporters this past Tuesday about his experiences dealing with racism in the NFL, and he had this to say…
“I think our problems in the NFL along those lines are minimal. We’re a league of meritocracy. You earn what you get, you get what you earn. I don’t see racism at all in the NFL, I don’t see discrimination in the NFL. We all live together, joined as one, for one common goal, and we all intermingle and mix tremendously. If society reflected an NFL team, we’d all be great.”
While Fangio might not be as much of a household name or as well known as Brees is to casual sports fans, he too was blasted for his remarks.
This, too, was a pretty dumb comment. As was previously mentioned, only three head-coaching jobs in the NFL belong to African-Americans. Additionally, most NFL front offices are run by white general managers and presidents of football operations.
Does Fangio really think that the Rooney Rule—a measure aimed at getting minorities more interviews for head coaching jobs—is working when that few NFL head coaches and executives are black and almost 75% of the league’s players are African-American?
Does he forget that the league and all 32 owners blackballed Kaepernick from the NFL and all but prevented him from getting another job with a team? Does he not recall the league banning kneeling during the national anthem because their peaceful protests over racial injustice were seen as an affront to Old Glory?
He just can’t be serious.
A friend texted me a perfect analogy for what Fangio said: Saying that racism doesn’t exist in the NFL is the equivalent of walking into a bakery and saying they don’t have cookies. It’s illogical.
Like Brees, Fangio showed that he is either simply ignorant to the everyday struggles of African-American men to access opportunity in the NFL and in life in general, or refuses to acknowledge it due to his white privilege.
As the face and leader of the locker room, the head coach needs to represent the best interest of his players. Comments like that show Fangio truly doesn’t get it.
Similar to Brees, Fangio doesn’t understand the power he has as a white male in the NFL to bring about change. Fangio and Brees can both afford to ignore and not see race as a factor in how the league operates because it has never affected either man. Fangio using his voice to advocate for others can go a long way to real reforms being made.
It’s also quite ironic when you think about that Fangio replaced Vance Joseph, an African-American coach, in Denver, and that his Broncos face the aforementioned Lynn twice a year in the AFC West. You’d think he might notice and pick up on some things, but I guess not.
Alas, both men have issued apologies for the comments they made.
Brees posted a pair of messages on Instagram expressing how contrite he was over how many people he had offended with his words. He pledged to do more listening and understanding going forward so that he could be more educated on the matter before speaking further.
Brees’ apology elicited a tweet from President Donald Trump, whom Brees was seen sitting with at the College Football Playoff national title game earlier this year—which frankly feels like a decade ago at this point given all that has happened in the world this year. Trump said that Brees shouldn’t have apologized for what he said, and that every one must stand and respect the flag.
Brees responded to Trump on Instagram, saying that his feelings on the issue changed after discussing and learning more about it from others.
Fangio issued a statement saying that what he said was “wrong.”
“After reflecting on my comments yesterday and listening to the players this morning I realize what I said regarding racism and discrimination in the NFL was wrong. While I have never personally experienced those terrible things first-hand during my 33 years in the NFL, I understand many players, coaches and staff have different perspectives.”
“I should have been more clear and I am sorry.”
I’m glad and happy to see that both Brees and Fangio have apologized for their wrongs. But the kind words only go so far. Now the real work and action begins for both men, as they seek to better understand the experience of being black in America.
It’s time for them to step up, take a stand, and advocate for those who don’t have the same power and privilege as they do.
But it’s not just on both men. It’s on the NFL too for a creating a culture that allows players like Brees and coaches like Fangio to remain blind to race. Whether it’s by strengthening the Rooney Rule so that teams actually abide by it or allowing players to peacefully protest, the league needs to do better.
A number of the biggest stars in the league—all African-American—sent a video to the NFL calling for the league to begin listening to its players, supporting peaceful protests and admitting it was wrong in stopping such demonstrations, condemning racism and systemic oppression, and declaring that Black Lives Matter.
In what may be one of his finest moments as commissioner, Roger Goodell said that he is listening and that he and the league want to be part of the solution as they work together with the players.
You have to give credit where credit is due and applaud the NFL for finally listening to its players and wanting to make a difference. Now it’s time to see if the league puts its money where its mouth is.
Actions speak louder than words.
