Getting to the Root of the Problem: Where Are All the Black Owners in Sports?

Abstract

Many decry the lack of Black and other racial minority head coaches and team executives in professional sports in the United States. The problem lies partly in the fact that people usually hire people who are like them. The owners of sports teams hire the head coaches, along with the lead team executives (LTE), such as the general manager and team CEO/president who help run the team. Of the 151 sports teams in the five major professional sports in the United States, the current total of majority owners who are Black equals one: Michael Jordan. The vast majority of owners are White males, as are the head coaches and LTE in those leagues.

The lack of Black owners, head coaches, and LTE can also be explained by concepts attributable to racism, such as institutional racism and White supremacy, as well as implicit and unconscious bias. Critical Race Theory, which has become highly politicized, also sheds light on these issues in professional sports. If leagues want to see more Black head coaches and LTE, then the people making those hiring decisions must change. Simply put, if Blacks become majority owners of teams, then they will start hiring more Black head coaches and LTE. This Article proposes a plan for increasing Black owners in the major sports leagues in the United States.

Part I of the Article describes in detail the lack of Black owners, head coaches, and LTE in professional sports in the United States. Parts II and III examine the lack of Black owners and leaders in sports through concepts of racism and Critical Race Theory. Part IV discusses the current efforts to increase Black head coaches and LTE, namely the Rooney Rule, and proposes a revamped Rooney Rule. This Part also covers why those efforts are insufficient. Part V sets forth practical proposals to increase Black majority ownership in sports teams. Part VI provides counterarguments against the proposals and responds to those counterarguments. This Article concludes that the major sports leagues in the United States must help provide a path to majority ownership for Blacks, which will lead to an increase in Black head coaches and LTE in the professional sports leagues.

Keywords: Critical race theory; bias; unconscious racism; racism; sports and race; institutional racism; White supremacy; Black owners; Black coaches; Rooney Rule; pro sports