Guest bravesfan Report post Posted July 26, 2003 credit: espn.com (article here) Friday, July 25 Millen fined for not interviewing minority candidates Associated Press DETROIT -- Detroit Lions president Matt Millen was fined $200,000 by the NFL on Friday for not interviewing any minority candidates before hiring coach Steve Mariucci. Commissioner Paul Tagliabue sent a letter to Millen informing him of the fine. After coach Marty Mornhinweg was fired by the Lions in January, Mariucci was the only person interviewed for the job. The team said five minority candidates turned down interviews because it appeared inevitable Mariucci would be hired. "While certain of the difficulties that you encountered in seeking to schedule interviews with minority candidates were beyond your control, you did not take sufficient steps to satisfy the commitment that you had made,'' Tagliabue wrote. Tagliabue also has said that future failures to interview minority candidates for a head coaching opening could lead to fines of $500,000 or higher as "conduct detrimental'' to the NFL. Spokesman Bill Keenist said the Lions "respectfully disagree'' with Friday's ruling but support initiatives to promote diversity on coaching staffs and in front offices. The NFL has been trying for years to increase minority presence at its highest levels. The league intensified its attack on the problem after advocates announced last year they might sue if the NFL didn't hire more black coaches. League owners agreed in principle in December that any team seeking to hire a head coach would interview at least one minority candidate. The exception would be when a team makes a commitment to promote one of its assistants. At the time of Mariucci's hiring in February, Gene Upshaw, the executive director of the NFL Players Association, and Pittsburgh Steelers owner Dan Rooney criticized the Lions for failing to follow that new policy. "The Detroit Lions gave mere lip service to the agreed-upon minority hiring process, treating it almost as if a nuisance to their hiring of Steve Mariucci,'' Upshaw said at the time. "The minority candidates were never given a fair chance to interview. In this case, the Lions' position is indefensible.'' Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Agent of Oblivion Report post Posted July 26, 2003 This story annoys the fuck out of me. 1. The Detroit Lions are a business, and can employ whoever the fuck they want. 2. What race are the vast majority of the players? The majority of coaches might be white, but I hardly think it's some kind of conspiracy. Anyone who says the NFL is racist needs to get their head examined. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Choken One Report post Posted July 26, 2003 Need I say "DOUBLE STANDARD"? Dallas Cowboys. Ring A Bell? Go Ahead, N.F.L fine your "golden" team. Do it. You can't you fucking bastards can you? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Youth N Asia Report post Posted July 26, 2003 That's bullshit. Now if they were going through a long interview process it would make sense. But they knew who their man was and that was that. They tried to get minorities to come in for interviews but they wouldn't do it. It's complete crap. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Eagan469 Report post Posted July 26, 2003 The world is coming to an end. Everything is so PC - I can't stand it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Choken One Report post Posted July 26, 2003 Exactly...Dallas was more offensive in my mind. They just OUT RIGHT went and hired Parcells and NFL wasn't about to argue with them. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest PopGun22 Report post Posted July 26, 2003 Exactly...Dallas was more offensive in my mind. They just OUT RIGHT went and hired Parcells and NFL wasn't about to argue with them. Not exactly. Jerry Jones did an interview with Dennis Green over the phone. He then asked the NFL if he could count that as an interview of a minority candidate. The NFL said that he could, so he told Green "Thanks but no thanks" and went and got Parcells. So while it's still a pretty blatant stretching of the rules, it's not a total disregard of them. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest bps "The Truth" 21 Report post Posted July 26, 2003 I don't understand why the Lions deserve a fine here at all. Given the lopsided number of white coaches to minority coaches I think having some kind of idea to change that is good... but they tried to interview 5 minority candidates and were turned down by all of them because everyone knew who they were going to hire. Who...by the way happens to be a coach of enough accomplishment that I think the system should be waived when you have the opportunity to hire them. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest BobbyWhioux Report post Posted July 26, 2003 All these fines are going to do is lead to more token interviews or "palace tours" as that Harry Edwards guy referred to them on T.B.D.S.S.P. the other night (I kinda liked that metaphor). People will "interview" a token minority (re: black) candidate, feign interest in him, then blow him off and hire the same old white guy they were going to hire anyway. [People always tend to rehire the "same old coaches" in all sports, the guys who have done it before are recycled until they just get tired and quit. Hell, Trader Jack McKeon came out of nowhere one last time to manage the Marlins this year. And you'll notice now that Dennis Green, Ray Rhodes, and Tony Dungy are in "the rotation" They will (and in Tony's case, have) get (gotten) second and third head coach gigs.] [There's a pan-racial glass ceiling against new coaches. Granted, it may be harder for black coaches to break it than whites (and that may merely be a product of who gets assistant coaching) I dunno. But the dearth of "minority" (what a transparent code word; with the demographics of the NFL, they mean "black") candidates is not simply a product of racial discrimination in the present; in fact, it's more a legacy of racial discrimination in the past (they didn't get the shots way back when, ergo they didn't get into "the rotation" and thus they don't get gigs now, because almost nobody will take a chance on an "unproven" coach, even if the "proven" coach is proven mediocre or proven bad.)] Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Youth N Asia Report post Posted July 26, 2003 And let's face it. The owners have hundred of millions of dollars tied up in their teams. Ultimatly they want whoever can win the most game, black, white, whatever. There is too much money involved to be like that. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rob E Dangerously 0 Report post Posted July 26, 2003 I prefer the extreme slant on Newsmax http://www.newsmax.com/showinsidecover.sht...003/7/25/161516 Detroit Lions Hire White Coach, Have to Pay $200,000 The NFL has apparently become a bastion of political correctness rivaling the most extreme of America's universities. It has fined the Detroit Lions $200,000 for daring to hire a white man, Steve Mariucci, as head coach. The league said the Lions should have interviewed non-white candidates for the job, but the team noted that five minority candidates turned down interviews. "While certain of the difficulties that you encountered in seeking to schedule interviews with minority candidates were beyond your control, you did not take sufficient steps to satisfy the commitment that you had made," huffed Commissioner Paul Tagliabue. "League owners agreed in principle in December that any team seeking to hire a head coach would interview at least one minority candidate," the Associated Press noted today. Apparently they didn't discuss what to do if no minorities would let themselves be interviewed. Tagliabue, by the way, is white. He failed to explain why he won't resign so some non-white can have his job. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Vern Gagne Report post Posted July 26, 2003 Keep in mind this is the league rule. Agree or disagree, the league has everyright to fine the Lions. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest shlidgn90 Report post Posted July 26, 2003 matt millen knew he was going to hire mariucchi when he fired the last coach. i can understand if this was similiar to the tampa bay coaching job last year, where the best coach available was black(remember this was before gruden was taken from the raiders). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest kkktookmybabyaway Report post Posted July 27, 2003 Stupid policy is as stupid policy does. Damn that Millen for not interviewing token candidates... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Vern Gagne Report post Posted July 27, 2003 Keeping Millen has GM is worth the fine alone. Heck, it might be going easy on the Lions. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
