The AFL, along with the Indigenous Australian community, have done tremendous work to fight against racism in the game and society in general.
They have done incredible work to help bridge the gap between white and black Australia. As the AFL community celebrate Indigenous Round and the many positives Indigenous Australians have brought to game and to wider society, there remains one burning issue for me.
Are there enough Indigenous Australians filling senior or assistant coaching positions and football department management positions at AFL clubs? It appears not and it’s clear the AFL should consider replicating the NFL’s Rooney Rule, albeit with a minor alteration.
The rule would declare all clubs must interview at least one Indigenous Australian when conducting interviews for offered senior and assistant coaching positions or football operations manager position.
An interview would constitute a formal interview, not a phone call or a brief chat but a formal and professional interview. I’ll save you the finer details for another time.
Firstly, it would only be fair to give a brief introduction to the Rooney Rule.
In 2003, under the leadership of Pittsburgh Steelers’ chairman Dan Rooney, the NFL Diversity Committee made it mandatory for all NFL clubs to interview at least one minority for the position of head coach and general manager when the position becomes available.
This rule came about because in the previous 80 years, there were only six African American head coaches. It was clear something needed to be done to fix the inadequate representations of minorities and especially African-Americans in coaching and upper management of NFL clubs.
The success was there to see, in the decade following its implementation, 12 head coaching positions were filled by an African-American. Furthermore, at least one minority head coach or general manager has made the Super Bowl every year since 2006.
While there have been some lapses such as the non-hiring of any minorities in head coaches or general managers positions following the 2012 season, it is clear the Rooney Rule has delivered.
You don’t have to be a Rhodes Scholar to know that there are differences between Indigenous Australians and African Americans and their current representation in the AFL and NFL and the total populations of their respective countries.
African Americans represent 68 per cent of NFL players and around 12.6 per cent of the total population of the USA. Indigenous Australians represent 9 per cent of AFL players and roughly 2.5 per cent of the total population of Australia.
In my best efforts I could not find a solid data base of current AFL senior coaches and assistants who are Indigenous Australians. However, I was astonished to find out there has not been a senior coach of an AFL club who is an Indigenous Australian since North Melbourne’s Barry Cable (1981-1984).
If there haven’t been any since Cable, I don’t have much hope for there being any before. If there is a grand number for before or after, then I am more than happy to be corrected but as it stands right now, I wouldn’t be able to think of many.
Furthermore, there is anecdotal evidence to suggest it could do much better than what many would label it as – tokenism. Many African American head coaches and general managers have gone on the record stating the opportunity to present themselves in a formal interview improves themselves as a coach.
Therefore, they wouldn’t have the skills needed to perform well in interviews and subsequently the opportunity to become a head coach without going through previous interviews. This means the rule, along with the obvious networking possibilities, would provide a great help.
One does have to acknowledge that in the US, billionaire owners of sport franchises in various leagues have a track record of racism.
However, if AFL clubs are not as chaotic and reckless as private owners, why haven’t we witnessed a steady increase of Indigenous Australians become coaches or football operations managers at clubs?
I do not accuse any AFL club of having any racist hiring policies or having any preference to white coaches. That’s ridiculous.
But this issue isn’t about blaming people, it’s about helping one of the most disadvantaged groups of people a chance in a sport that they have given so much to.
After all, it’s a much bleaker picture when you look at AFL club boards and the AFL Commission itself.
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