On Friday The Root reported that Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer hired former University of Iowa strength and conditioning coach Chris Doyle o be the Jaguars’ director of sports performance despite the fact that dozens of Black college football players had accused Doyle of racism and abuse in the past. It was a bad look—which Meyer defended by saying “I know the person for close to 20 years” and “I vet everyone on our staff”—but with America being the land of “I don’t believe you negroes,” it wasn’t terribly surprising.
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Well, in today’s episode of What a Difference a Day Makes...When You’re Probably Racist, just one day after his hiring was announced, Doyle resigned amid the backlash.
“Chris Doyle came to us this evening to submit his resignation and we have accepted,” Meyer said in a statement, USA Today reports. “Chris did not want to be a distraction to what we are building in Jacksonville. We are responsible for all aspects of our program and, in retrospect, should have given greater consideration to how his appointment may have affected all involved. We wish him the best as he moves forward in his career.”
In other words: “Hmmm, maybe my Caucasian intuition isn’t superior to the actual experiences of dozens of Black athletes.”
Anyway, I must admit I’m pleasantly surprised at how quickly this make-up-to-break-up session between the sports world and white supremacy went down. One thing about America’s racial awakening: Even when there’s no legal route to fighting racism, we can always fight it by refusing not to make a fuss.
From USA Today:
On Friday, Rod Graves of the Fritz Pollard Alliance — an organization dedicated to championing diversity in the NFL — called the hiring “unacceptable.”
“At a time when the NFL has failed to solve its problem with racial hiring practices, it is simply unacceptable to welcome Chris Doyle into the ranks of NFL coaches,” Graves’ statement read. “Doyle’s departure from the University of Iowa reflected a tenure riddled with poor judgment and mistreatment of Black players. His conduct should be as disqualifying for the NFL as it was for University of Iowa.
“Urban Meyer’s statement, ‘I’ve known Chris for close to 20 years’ reflects the good ol’ boy network that is precisely the reason there is such a disparity in employment opportunities for Black coaches.”
A-fucking-men.
Hopefully, Meyer will make better choices in choosing Doyle’s replacement. Maybe he should try someone who has no history of racism allegations, isn’t a 20-year “good ol’ boy” friend of his and maybe...just maybe—*clears throat*—CHOOSE SOMEBODY BLACK!
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