The National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) is disappointed with the lack of progress in the NFL’s media hiring practices. Just a few months short of a year since our initial outreach and call for change, the NFL continues to lack Black journalists and communicators in its news division.
In addition to NABJ, others have sought answers from NFL executives, but no documented progress in the organization’s media diversity efforts has been made available.
As we noted in our initial statement in May 2023, there have been no explanations given for how the NFL has allowed the practice of exclusion to operate over the years.
As a result, the NABJ media monitoring team is requesting an immediate meeting with NFL media executives and commissioner Roger Goodell to discuss what swift actions they will take to remedy the lack of diversity in its media department.
“As the NFL gears up for one of the most watched events in the world, it should not feel comfortable knowing that its news arm does not reflect the diversity of its players, audience and event participants. We are challenging the NFL to make a serious effort to address these inequities now,” said NABJ President Ken Lemon, NABJ Vice President-Broadcast Walter Smith Randolph, and NABJ Vice President-Print Kathy Chaney in a joint statement. “A failure to move quickly to resolve this matter reflects an insensitivity to the importance of having NFL stories told by diverse voices.”