Professional sports have been experiencing heavy Black History Month.

Brian Flores was fired as Miami Dolphins’ coach. He claimed that the league used racist hiring practices. Eminem, a rapper, sat down during Super Bowl’s halftime show to support Colin Kapernick. Kapernick was blacklisted after he kneeled during the national anthem in protest of racial injustice.

These stories were all over the news. The same has happened with other stories. Washington officially renamingIts football team The Commanders was formed more than a decade after the Commanders’ previous name was dropped, which had been long considered racist and offensive to Native Americans.

However, there is another conversation that involves race and sports. This conversation is not being had in public.

There has not been one Black chief executive in any of the major American pro-sport leagues. Also known as a commissioner, There have been none in the 102 NFL seasons or 75 years of Major League Baseball. There are at most 28 commissioners of pro-sport leagues. None of them are Black.

According to him, “We are unable even to get Colin Kaepernick onto a team.” Michael Eric DysonProfessor of African American Studies at Vanderbilt University. He is a well-known scholar on race, culture, and history. “So talking about a Black commissioner seems to be a leap of faith that is far ‘beyond the ken of mortal man’ — as they said on Andy Griffith Show.”

Numerous private firms and non-profit organizations responded to social unrest that occurred in 2020. commitments to improveTheir diversity. Goldman SachsIt stated that it would not take public companies if there wasn’t at least one “diverse board member or candidate. The NFL and NBA both proclaimed their promises to “drive economic development” and fight racial injustices in Black communities with commitments of more than $500 millions.

It remains to be determined if the push for economic diversity and improvement throughout leagues will reach pro-sports C-suite positions such as CEO.

Ferguson Jr. was among the Fortune 500’s few Black CEOs. When he ran TIAA Financial Services, he was among five Black CEOs. Before his retirement in 2021His leadership of the company’s financial crisis was crucial. He is credited for adding over 1,000,000 customers to TIAA and elevating its assets to $1 trillion.

Ferguson called the absence of Black CEOs “multifaceted” and recommended that different boards solve this problem.

“There’s more evidence that shows diverse teams, including in a business context, leads to better outcomes — and financial outcomes, not just cultural outcomes,” said Ferguson, who is also a CNBC contributor.

Ferguson was a great man, but he is now a terrible person. American ExpressKenneth Chenault is CEO and former-MerckAlthough Ken Frazier was a pioneer, it is still rare to find a Black CEO who leads a Fortune 500 business. You include Thasunda Brown DuckettFerguson was replaced at TIAA by. Rosalind BrewerThe CEO of WalgreensMarvin Ellison, CEO of Lowes.

Ferguson stated that he is “cautiously optimistic” that more high-ranking companies will look to hire Black CEOs. However, Ferguson warned that both sports leagues as well as companies need to deal with the issue in light of growing awareness from Black consumers.

Ferguson explained that board members need to recognize that this isn’t a moral imperative. This is a business imperative. And frankly, particularly in sports when there are so many of the athletes who are African-American — so many of the fans are African American — people are going to expect to see the front office and the back office looking very much like the fan base and more like the teams. This is going to be good for business and morality.

The result was: Black commissionerTerdema Ussery, who held the title of Continental Basketball Association’s champion in the lower level sports. The league folded in 2009. In 2006 there was talk that a major professional sports league might be close to adding a Black CEO.

Richard LapchickHe was the chair of University of Central Florida’s Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport and was one of the first to propose a Black candidate for the seat of a Commissioner. His writings are here. a 2006 articleHe called on the NFL to hire Reggie Williams, a former linebacker who is also a respected sports executive for this job. Williams was mentioned as an option to replace Paul Tagliabue, the then-Commissioner.

Williams also had the qualifications.

Williams was with the Cincinnati Bengals his entire life. While playing his final season in 1989, Williams served as a councilman. Williams then became the first Black president. Disney. He is also responsible for creating Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex.

Lapchick mentioned Williams’ business acumen. He had a football history. He was a refreshing perspective for the NFL on a lot issues.

However, Williams was not chosen by the NFL and the position was given to Roger Goodell who became one of America’s highest-paid CEOs. From 2019 to 2021 Goodell earned an average $64 million per year. according to the New York Times.

Goodell’s agreement with Goodell expires in 2024. There was also some speculation he could retireThis could allow him to make history again after he finishes his current contract. Sports Business Journal was able to publish this week’s story. reportedGoodell had been trying to negotiate an extension with the NFL, but they denied it.

However, if Goodell were to leave the NFL would owners be willing to seriously look into a Black candidate for their position?

Dyson denied it.

“These owners have not evinced any indication, given any sign, that they are willing with their troubled and often traumatic racial beliefs, some of them antiquated — to move forward,” he said. Although it would be fantastic, the line of succession has dictated that this club is white men’s.

The Sun Belt Conference was held March 2019. hired Keith Gill, making him the first Black manto assume the office of commissaire in an NCAA bowl subdivision conference. Kevin Warren became the first commissioner for an NCAA football subdivision conference in June 2019. Black chief operating officerIn the NFL, he was appointed Big Ten commissioner. His first Power 5 presidency was as a Black leader.

Warren, who has an NFL background, is now working as a commissioner. There’s even speculation that Warren could become a professional sports commissioner in the NFL.

Lapchick replied, “Absolutely,” when asked about Williams’s ability to be a candidate. He’s been an inspiration to me since his time at Minnesota. 

Warren responded to rumors that he would one day lead the NFL as its CEO. Also, I believe that people will do the right things for the right reasons and the right time. “I know that I have the ability to ensure I am operating at this highest level of performance at all times.”

Len Elmore from Columbia University suggested that the NBA have a Black commissioner in place of the NFL. As evidence, he used the pro-football problem with hiring Black head coaches to show that they aren’t ready for a Black chief executive.

“There are many Black coaches who have been certified, but I’m not sure how many you can see. [owners]He said that they know that these guys are out there.” They still hire less-qualified men. That’s the difference — who are they comfortable with. That is the thing I look at.”