Exploring Race, Sports, and Leadership
Document Type
Presentation
Publication Date
4-4-2025
Conference / Event Title
Exploring Race, Sports, and Leadership
Conference / Event Location
Wharton School of Business - University of Pennsylvania
Hosting Organization
Wharton School of Business - University of Pennsylvania
Abstract
Last year, there were nine non-white head coaches in the National Football League (NFL), six of whom were African American. N. Jeremi Duru, author of Advancing the Ball: Race, Reformation, and the Quest for Equal Coaching Opportunity in the NFL and professor of law at American University’s Washington College of Law, pointed out that this number is a far cry from the days when Fritz Pollard became the NFL’s first—and only—Black head coach in 1921, a milestone not repeated until Art Shell was hired by the Oakland Raiders in 1989.
Duru was in conversation with Wharton Professor Emeritus Kenneth Shropshire, the architect of the Race & Sports seminar. Together, they examined the Rooney Rule and its evolving role in the NFL and beyond. Duru explained that the rule has been a “net positive,” though not without its ups and downs. He reminded the audience that Black players were essentially barred from the NFL from 1934 to 1946, and when they were readmitted, an unwritten rule excluded them from key leadership positions—Quarterback, Linebacker, and Center—positions believed to require high levels of intelligence and decision-making. Black players were valued for their physicality, not their intellect—an assumption that extended into coaching, where they were rarely considered for head coaching jobs.
In a particularly illuminating moment, Professor Shropshire asked Duru about the contributions of attorney Johnnie Cochran and Cyrus Mehri, and their connection to Penn. Cochran and Mehri commissioned a groundbreaking study on racial disparities among NFL coaches, which was researched and written by Penn professor Janice Madden. Her report revealed stark inequities in hiring, firing, and performance evaluations of Black head coaches. Duru recalled how Cochran’s off-script declaration at a press conference— “If they don’t negotiate, we will litigate”—catalyzed the creation of the Rooney Rule.
Conference URL
https://wsb.wharton.upenn.edu/race-and-sports-2025/
External Links
https://wsb.wharton.upenn.edu/race-and-sports-2025/
Recommended Citation
Duru, N. Jeremi, "Exploring Race, Sports, and Leadership" (2025). Presentations. 1057.
https://digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu/pub_disc_presentations/1057