The National Football League (NFL) has demonstrated notable progress in hiring women and officials of color under Commissioner Roger Goodell’s leadership. The move comes as the league recently suspended its own accelerator program focused on increasing diversity in coaching and football operations. Yet this decision causes us to wonder how serious the administration is about fulfilling that commitment on inclusive hiring practices.
The accelerator program began in 2022. Its purpose is to expose these highly talented and qualified, diverse candidates to team owners and senior club executives. The expanded program was meant to be a corrective against the rampant bias in hiring that still infects the 32-team league. The result of its first iteration was a general manager and a head coach. This success abundantly illustrates its potential to lead to positive, substantive change.
Over the years, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has made his stance clear about the importance of diversity in the league. We know that we are stronger when we include the views of those who have different experiences, different races, different backgrounds. We empower ourselves, he said, and it’s not just women—men, people of color, we just make ourselves better. Unsurprisingly, Goodell stressed that increasing diversity is not only a moral obligation, but a competitive edge for the league. On and off the field, he feels that fostering a diverse culture is key to success.
The accelerator program was slated to move forward with an event planned for their next springtime meeting in Eagan, Minnesota. The NFL’s decision to suspend the initiative can hardly be called a loss. This action directly counters the league’s long-proud history of working to further diversity. This moratorium comes ironically as numerous corporations across corporate America are retreating from their initial commitments to advance diversity and inclusion. They are reconsidering these commitments at a make-or-break time.
N. Jeremi Duru, a law professor and commentator on sports law, remains optimistic about the NFL’s dedication to diversity despite this development. He noted that they’ve long been ahead of the curve on making inclusivity a priority. This value has been the most visible priority for the league in the past few months. They’re not just on some kind of trend in corporate America. More than anything, they defend its importance on mere grounds of principle, because it’s just the right thing to do. They argue further that it serves the bottom line and improves the league overall.
The league’s commitment to diversity has been endorsed by Rod Graves, who leads a group advising the NFL on inclusive hiring practices. He sees potential in what’s shifting, but he warns that any effort has to develop the right way. As with any initiative that has come before it, the program needs to adapt and set a bright line between its success and what it’s doing that is quantifiably affecting change. Without that clarity, it’s only a matter of time before candidates and [team] owners begin to question its return on investment,” Graves explained.
One success story that stands out from the accelerator program is Ran Carthon. His path to become the general manager of the Tennessee Titans started with an interview with the team’s principal owner, Amy Adams Strunk. His appointment exemplifies the potential of the program to open doors for underrepresented candidates into leadership roles within one of the league’s most powerful offices.
The ongoing discussion surrounding the NFL’s diversity efforts reflects a broader conversation about inclusion within sports and corporate America as a whole. Though other organizations have recently retreated from their promises to invest in and spur diversity initiatives, the NFL has stood firm on its continued prioritization of this critical issue. The league had been making statements to the contrary, most recently reiterating that diversity is fundamental to the league’s mission and business.
The NFL finds itself in a different moment of uncertainty with its own accelerator program. Stakeholders—especially those representing women’s sports—are eagerly anticipating how the league will address these issues in the future. Use this moment as an opportunity to think, plan and pivot. Prioritize opportunities to improve diversity hiring practices—and make sure you’re doing so in a way that gets measurable results.
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