The real problem with the Belichick texts
Bill Belichick, a respected institutional figure in the NFL, texted to the Black Brian congratulations on a new job when in fact it was the white Brian who had been hired. The Black Brian was confused because his interview had felt like a pseudo-affirmative action pantomime of a job interview. These texts surprised no one, except for the fact that they were then made available to the public. When we discuss levers of power, backrooms, and institutional racism — these are the moments that reveal what is behind the curtain. It showed that the NFL team didn’t have any real intentions of hiring the Black Brian. It is these forms of overt racism, that occur in private, that allow whiteness to act as an all-access pass for power and privilege.
But the real problem is that Belichick did not send these texts intentionally. If he was a true ally to Black people and committed to dismantling racism in the NFL, than he could have acted as a disrupter instead of a bystander. I am not naive, I know that Belichick is in no way a social justice orientated person. But for white people who act confused or doubtful that their actions can have any real impact, let’s imagine what Belichick could have done. He could have been a public advocate for the proper use of the Roony rule- he could have called Black Brian and discussed a strategy for getting a real interview, he could make phone calls to the other team in favor of them hiring the better candidate, he could have learned of the hiring decision and called Black Brian to not waste his time and energy, he could have recorded what other white coaches and team owners say in the privacy of whiteness and provide evidence for this oncoming lawsuit.
Now I can hear the cries of fairness already swelling. We have to acknowledge two facts: 1. this was never fair — a league that has to institute a policy that simply requires teams to offer interviews to candidates from underrepresented groups clearly does not have a compass that aims for fairness. 2. privileged white people most often act in unfair ways — giving jobs to family members, using their social capital for the benefit of other white people, being cynical or overtly critical of attempts to change racist systems.
Overt and explicit acts of racism is only the tip of the iceberg, it is visible to all and hazardous only to those that ignore it. It is the glacial rock below the water that we need to address. White people can do this if they choose to, but as we know, the Belichick texts would never have surfaced if they had landed safely with white Brian. Black Brian would have a harder time proving that the system was rigged against him. Onlookers would dismiss his concerns as oversensitivity, as a “woke” agenda, as a play for publicity… These texts provide just a tiny piece of evidence of how racism operates, just imagine what white people say the rest of the time.
