The racial disctimination lawsuit that former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores has brought against the NFL, the Dolphins, the New York Giants and Denver Broncos, has once again brough systemic racism to the forefront of the national conversation.
The accusations of racism is not something all that surprising or unfamiliar to any sports fan following the NFL, especially since Colin Kaepernick created an historical firestorm by kneeling during the National Anthem to bring attention to systemic racism and police brutality.
Flores’ accusations of being offered $100K per game to lose in order to improve the team’s draft positioning is a bit of an eyebrow raiser.
The League is constantly preaching that integrity of the game is one of its main pillars. An owner offering a coach money to throw games is about as egregious and against the grain as it gets.
Apparently what Flores described isn’t that uncommon. Kimberly Diemert posted a Tweet incriminating several teams and even naming a GM who offered coaches money to tank.
Congratulations #brianflores for your bravery. We have records that will help your case. DM me. @NFL and @nflcommish knew about this and covered it up. They did this @Browns . Paid Brown, DePodesta and Berry bonus $ along with @huejack10 to TANK for 2016 and 2017.@espn https://t.co/YOnqArWlnL
— Kimberly Diemert (@KimberlyDiemer1) February 2, 2022
Former NFL Head Coach Hue Jackson, now the head coach football coach at Grambling State university, co-signed the accusations in a Tweet that read:
“I stand with Brian Flores. I can back up every word I’m saying.”
I stand with Brian Flores. I can back up every word i’m saying.
— Hue Jackson (@huejack10) February 2, 2022
Jackson, who’s several years removed from his final season of a rough three-year stint in Cleveland, was immediately attacked by the Twittersphere. Fans weren’t accepting of Jackson’s claims and questioned his decision to wait until now to come forth with such damaging information.
Truth is you went 3-36-1 in Cleveland and you can’t accept your own responsibilities and shortcomings as our head coach for those years. Good luck in college
— Poes (@poes01) February 2, 2022
The support for Hue was at least lukewarm.
Good luck at Grambling coach…I always thought you got a raw deal in Cleveland
— Red Pill Or Die (@CaliClevelander) February 2, 2022
But the shots at his unimpressive head coaching record while in Cleveland (3-36-1) was too easy a target for antagonizers, unsympathetic parties and those people who get very squirmish when issues of race steal narrative.
Hue…. sit down. 0-16 and still didn't lose your job.
3-36-1 is not racism problem. That's a Hue Jackson problem. Your record and how you handled yourself after your dismissal is to blame for your subsequent lack of offers. Nothing else. There is no wiggle room here.— Dizzy Drew (@eye_c_ewe) February 2, 2022
The tweets kept coming and there were no references to race, just Hue’s record while overseeing a franchise that could have been purposely tanking. It’s like the fans were refusing to accept that Jackson might not have been as bad as his record indicated.
During a tank, management wants you to lose and provides you with a roster that they hope will guarantee an 0-16 season and the first pick in the draft, which Cleveland accomplshed and flipped into Baker Mayfield, before kicking Hue to the curb for Freddie Kitchens, of all people.
They also blamed Hue for waiting so long to insert No. 1 overall draft pick Baker Mayfield into the starting rotation. Mayfield’s inspirational play once assuming the starting position erased any remaining good grace Jackson had with Cleveland fans.
When race is an obvious underlying factor to a Black coach’s failure or lack of opportunities, people are quick to dismiss the importance of ownership setting up an environment that is conducive to winning. The safe way to play it is to keep believing that the Black coach just wasn’t talented enough.
We all saw you on Hard Knocks @huejack10 . They will write books based on your performance on how NOT to lead. If you testified and I was cross-examining I’d simply play the video. Flores may have a case, you do not #Browns
— 007 | X (@SeeEnEffTee) February 2, 2022
Being dog water at coaching and intentionally tanking, is two different thing hue. And only one is true
— Machine Gun Smelly (@Crypto_Castle_) February 2, 2022
So as Twitter battled about the validity of Flores’ claims (as if he would risk his career to make all of this up) nobody was checking for Jackson.
To dismiss Jackson’s experiences as a Black head coach is to once again an attempt to minimize how deeply racist the NFL appears at times and erase the tainted history of the league as it pertains to the treatment of Black athletes and staff.
Hue Jackson was also paid to tank games like Brian Flores alleges. https://t.co/MFikaEb1Bw
— #StopCopCity (@ChuckModi1) February 2, 2022
Too much truth in one week is overwhelming for some people to handle. Flores said a mouthful and it’s a lot to process for people who are not of color. And few football fans want to deal with another racial reckoning one week before the Super Bowl.
But as the season wanes and the offseason comes into play, there will be extensive attention focused on Flores’ lawsuit and because it is in no way baseless or lacking merit as the NFL and accused franchises prematurely claim, expect more guys from the NFL Black coaching fraternity to reveal their own personal horrors dealign with a white establishment that sees them as expendable and insignificant.
Don’t hate Hue. Hate the game.
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