Denver Broncos coach Vic Fangio is backtracking on his previous comments about race within the NFL.
Speaking with reporters in the aftermath of the tragic killing of George Floyd at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer, Fangio acknowledged the work we need to do as a country to achieve racial equality.
But Fangio said on Tuesday he didn’t think the issue was prevalent in the NFL. In fact, Fangio said he didn’t see racism or discrimination “at all” in the league.
After apparently sleeping on it, and listening to the perspective from players who reacted or responded to his opinion, the coach has had a change of heart.
Fangio on Wednesday released a statement on the team’s official Twitter account:
After reflecting on my comments yesterday and listening to the players this morning, I realize what I said regarding racism and discrimination in the NFL was wrong. While I have never personally experienced those terrible things first-hand during my 33 years in the NFL, I understand that many players, coaches and staff have different perspectives.
I should have been more clear and I am sorry.
I wanted to make the point yesterday that there is no color within the locker rooms I have been in or on the playing fields I have coached on. Unfortunately, we don’t live or work only within those confines. Outside of those lines — both in the NFL and society — there is a lot of work to be done in the areas of diversity and providing opportunities across the board for minorities.
As the head coach, I look forward to listening to the players — both individually and collectively — to support them and work hand-in-hand to create meaningful change.
“After reflecting on my comments yesterday and listening to the players this morning, I realize what I said regarding racism and discrimination in the NFL was wrong."
A statement from Head Coach Vic Fangio: pic.twitter.com/5yNNDn9VzY
— Denver Broncos (@Broncos) June 3, 2020
As the world seems to be realizing that saying “you don’t see color” is a cop-out, it’s because the black community is sharing their perspective on the racism, even if subtle and subconscious, they deal with every day.
By listening to each other, people can make progress. And it looks like that’s what happened in Fangio’s case.
