The African-American coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers told reporters Wednesday that he rejects the injection of racial identity politics into football, insisting that he and his black colleagues in the NFL “don’t look at color.”
When asked how he felt about facing one of the other four black head coaches in the league, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin, Todd Bowles said that the racial question isn’t a consideration for him.
“I have a very good relationship with Tomlin. We don’t look at what color we are when we coach against each other; we just know each other,” he said.
“I have a lot of very good white friends that coach in this league as well, and I don’t think it’s a big deal as far as us coaching against each other, I think it’s normal. Wilks got an opportunity to do a good job, hopefully he does it. And we coach ball, we don’t look at color,” Bowles added.
A reporter asked Bowles to speak to minority representation and how he serves as a role model to other black coaches with ambitions to make it to the NFL. Bowles said he doesn’t want black career success in the field of professional sports management to be treated as an extraordinary phenomenon. He suggested that his and black coaches’ accomplishments are diminished when press dwell on the racial component.
“Well, when you say, ‘They see you guys,’ and ‘look like them and grew up like them,’ it means that we’re oddballs to begin with. I think the minute you guys stop making a big deal about it, everybody else will as well.” he said.
The NFL has come under fire in recent years for its growing interest in progressive programming and diversity, equity, and inclusion. The company has been accused of infusing wokeness into a game that millions of Americans used to enjoy for its political neutrality. In July 2021, the NFL announced it would play “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” commonly referred to as the black national anthem, before every game. In addition to creating a “Senior Vice President for Social Responsibility,” in June the NFL renewed 21 national grants worth $6.5 million as part of the league’s “Inspire Change” social justice project.