Opinion: 'Speak your truth': Former NFL assistant coach Eugene Chung supports Brian Flores
Former NFL assistant coach Eugene Chung, who experienced his own instances of racism during a 27-year NFL playing and coaching career, had one main piece of advice for Brian Flores.
"I would say, 'Speak your truth,' " Chung told Paste BN Sports on Wednesday.
"The hardest part of making change for the better," he added, "is taking that first step in uncomfortable situations."
Chung knows all about trying to make change. He's one of the NFL's great heroes who himself tried just that.
Chung is vital in this discussion about Flores, the former Miami Dolphins head coach who on Feb. 1 sued the NFL for racial discrimination. Flores' accusations are perhaps the most seismic of their kind ever leveled and have a real chance of forcing the NFL to seriously address the systemic racism in the coaching ranks.
Why is Chung important? Months ago, he raised the alarm about racism in coaching by discussing his own experiences in the NFL. Chung told the Boston Globe in May that during an interview with one unnamed team, he was told that: "Well, you're not really a minority."
“I was like, ‘Wait a minute. The last time I checked, when I looked in the mirror and brushed my teeth, I was a minority,’ " said Chung, who is Asian. “So I was like, ‘What do you mean I’m not a minority?’ "
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By discussing his situation publicly, Chung, in fact, was one of the few coaches who has ever spoken extensively and explicitly about racism in the profession. He showed months ago just how unserious the league is about combating racism.
The NFL launched an investigation into Chung's allegations and, remarkably, Chung said he was interviewed by the NFL just once, while his representatives spoke with the league's security arm several times.
The NFL reviewed Chung's allegations and said in a statement last July: “After multiple discussions, including with Mr. Chung and his representative, we were unable to confirm the precise statement that was made, or by whom and under what circumstances any such statement was made.”
Chung said he asked to speak with commissioner Roger Goodell but was rebuffed by the league.
There have been numerous chances for the NFL to truly address this and other race-related problems involving coaches and players. The NFL mishandled the Colin Kaepernick protest movement and could have learned from that. It could have taken more steps to better the Rooney Rule. It could have used Chung's situation as a moment to learn but stuck its head in the sand instead.
Notice how the league stated it did an investigation but said it couldn't confirm what was said to Chung. In the case of Flores, the NFL said the allegations from Flores were false, before it had even launched an investigation into his claims.
Numerous times, over decades, the league could have taken more honest and effective approaches to curing this problem, and each time, it failed. Chung was one of those times.
People like Chung and Flores are heroes.
The NFL? Not so much.