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The Denver Broncos head coach, talking Tuesday
on a video conference call, spoke out in favor of societal
changes in the wake of George Floyd's death. He then went on to
defend the NFL's record on race.
Asked about the evolution of player activism during his NFL
career, Fangio said, "I don't know that it's changed a whole
lot, to be honest with you. I haven't seen a great, great change
other than -- I just don't think there's been a tremendous
change, and I don't say that to be negative.
"I think our problems in the NFL along those lines are minimal.
We're a league of meritocracy. You earn what you get, you get
what you earn.
"I don't see racism at all in the NFL. I don't see
discrimination in the NFL. We live in a great atmosphere. Like I
alluded to earlier, we're lucky. We all live together joined as
one for one common goal, and we all intermingle and mix
tremendously. If society reflected an NFL team, we'd all be
great."
Fangio had said earlier on the call that he "was shocked, sad
and angry when I saw what the policeman (did) to a handcuffed
George Floyd on his stomach that led to his death. He should be
punished to the full extent of the law of the crimes he was
charged with in addition to being charged with treason for
failing to uphold the badge and uniform he was entrusted with
... It's a societal issue that we all have to join in to
correct."
He added, "The Minnesota cop failed the 99 percent of the police
that do a great job, and we are all paying a price for that.
I've listened to many people talk the past few days.
"The one that resonated with me the most was Kareem
Abdul-Jabbar. He also recognized that 98-99 percent of the
police do a tremendous job in tough situations and we must do
all we can to correct the small percentage that don't do a great
job on a daily basis. Kareem was one person talking sensibly and
with solutions. This is not a political issue."
Fangio also offered his support for Broncos safety Justin
Simmons, who spoke at a peaceful protest on Sunday in Stuart,
Fla., close to his hometown of Port Salerno, Fla.
"I thought it was great," Fangio said. "Justin is a great
person, a great leader and has his head screwed on correctly. He
sees the problems and how they need to be solved. He's doing it
peacefully and he's searching for solutions.
"It's easy for everybody to identify the problems -- we all know
the problems -- but we need to search for solutions. I think
that Justin is one of those guys that will help us find
solutions and lead us out of this mess that we're in."
According to multiple media reports, nearly 70 percent of NFL
players last season were African American. The league currently
has three African American head coaches -- the Pittsburgh
Steelers' Mike Tomlin, the Los Angeles Chargers' Anthony Lynn
and the Miami Dolphins' Brian Flores -- plus one Latino head
coach, the Washington Redskins' Ron Rivera.
Last month, the NFL announced changes to the "Rooney Rule" that
requires teams to interview minority candidates for
head-coaching and top front-office positions, adding to the
number of applicants who must be considered. The league tabled a
proposal to offer draft-pick incentives for teams that hire
minority head coaches or general managers.
--Field Level Media
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