[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 25 (Tuesday, February 8, 2022)]
[House]
[Page H1061]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1830
                    NFL'S LACK OF RESPONSE TO RACISM

  (Ms. JACKSON LEE asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, many of our jurisdictional committees 
have oversight over the major league sports teams, from baseball to 
basketball to football.
  As a member of the Judiciary Committee, I have been engaged with my 
committee in the oversight of the National Football League. In fact, I 
remember more than a decade ago we were the first committee to deal 
with brain concussions and the lack of response by the NFL to the 
players.
  Today, I rise for the lack of response to racism and racial 
discrimination in the NFL. I take note of the lawsuit filed by Coach 
Brian Flores and would hope that the words, ``it is without merit'' 
will not stand.
  I believe it is important, with the number of minority players versus 
the number of coaches to that in terms of statistics, that we address 
the seeming appearance of racial discrimination in the NFL. I think it 
is important to reassess the Rooney rule to give a criteria for how 
coaches are selected, so mistakes like the coach from Boston sending 
the wrong notice that ``you have been hired'' to someone else would not 
happen.
  To Mr. Goodell and the owners, let's work together, let's get the 
teams to look like America.

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