1997
Racial Report Card
Summary
BOSTON
– Northeastern
University's Center for the Study of Sport
in Society completed its ninth annual Racial Report
Card compiling the racial composition of players, coaches
and front office employees in the National Basketball Association,
National Football League, and Major League Baseball. Gender
comparisons are also provided where they are relevant.
The
1997 Racial Report Card (RRC), released in February 1998,
represents the first time that the Center included comparative
data for the ranks of college sport. This report covers
the seasons of 1996-97 in the NBA, 1997 in Major League
Baseball, 1997 in the NFL and the 1995-96 academic year
for colleges.
Since
its inception in 1984, the Sport in Society has attracted
national attention for its pioneering efforts to ensure
the education of athletes from junior high school through
the professional ranks. Its mission is to increase awareness
of sport and its relation to society, and to develop programs
that identify problems, offer solutions, and promote the
benefits of sport.
Highlights
The
results showed no significant overall breakthroughs in any
of the categories covered in professional sport. Both the
NFL and the NBA showed some improvement in selected categories
but there were no general trends observable. The NBA made
the most dramatic move with Commissioner David Stern's announcement
at the NBA League meetings in September 1997 that the NBA
would provide workshops on diversity for all league employees,
thus becoming the first professional sports organization
to initiate this. As has been the case since the publication
of the first RRC, no league received A's at the critical
level of team front office hiring practices.
The
NBA has had the highest grade in virtually every major category
for all nine years of the publication of The Racial Report
Card. Thus, it was not surprising that when all categories
were combined, the NBA came out on top for the ninth straight
year with an A- overall. The National Football League received
a B- for the fourth consecutive year.
Major
League Baseball received a conditional C because so much
data usually supplied by the League was not available for
1996 and 1997.
Quote from the Author
From
lead author Richard
Lapchick:
Center
for the Study of Sport in Society
Founder (and now current Director Emeritus)
"Despite
positive efforts for diversity by league offices, white
males still control most of our teams, front offices and
athletic departments. The rule of thumb, sadly, is that
black athletes and women can play – but they can't
stay."
Media Information
Richard
E. Lapchick
407-823-4887
[email protected]
Kevin
J. Matthews
617-373-4256
[email protected]
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