My question involves civil rights in the State of: USA
First off, so there are no misconceptions here, I am a white male who firmly believes that everyone - regardless of race, nationality, religion, etc. - should be treated as equals in every way... that is, until their actions dictate otherwise. I also firmly believe that racial diversity is a good thing.
For those unfamiliar with the "Rooney Rule", it requires NFL teams to interview a minority candidate when attempting to fill a coaching position from the outside. The rule does not apply if the team is hiring from within - only if outside candidates are to be considered.
Is this constitutional? I understand what the NFL is trying to do here: promote diversity. I don't know the #'s but the percentage of minority coaches in the NFL has historically been extremely low. Especially in the head coaching dept. So Dan Rooney comes up with this idea to try and change that. Ok, good on him for trying to make a positive difference. But is it ok to tell a white person, "well, you are qualified, and I'd like to hire you, but I can't - I have to interview a minority first." Doesn't that fall under the category of holding someone back due to their race? What if the owner of a company said to a black person, "well, you are qualified, and I'd like to hire you, but I can't - I have to interview a white person first." Would that be ok? B/c that is the same thing.
Again, I get what the NFL is trying to do here. I do not find fault with the league trying to promote equal opportunity and racial diversity, but I question the method they are using.
An exercise in curiosity, is all this is![]()

