The major leagues: have front-office positions opened up for blacks?

FOR THE LAST 30 YEARS. PROFESSIONAL SPORTS HAVE BEEN DOMINATED BY AFRICAN American athletes. Now there are a growing number of people of color behind the scenes, where owners, general managers, and coaches call the shots and control the economics, according to the University of Central Florida's Institute for Diversity and Ethics, which publishes annual report cards that evaluate the minority hiring practices of major sports leagues.

In 2005, the NBA had the highest percentage of black coaches in pro sports history (37%), and seven black general managers--more than in any other men's pro league. Many prominent African Americans own or partially own NBA teams, including BET founder Bob Johnson, who owns the Charlotte Bobcats.

In 2005, 13% of managers in Major League Baseball were black (compared with 10% in 2004) and the NFL's Minnesota Vikings welcomed Reggie Fowler as a minority shareholder.

Richard Lapchick, the Institute's founder and director, says the NBA has always been ahead in diversity hiring practices but other leagues have had to implement special rules.

MLB Commissioner Bud Selig instituted such changes in 2000. The NFL followed suit in 2002 after attorneys Cyrus Mehri and the late Johnnie Cochran documented the lack of black coaches in pro football. From the mounting pressure came the Rooney Rule, which requires NFL teams to interview minority candidates for coaching positions.

The Institute's report cards, which have been published for the past 14 years, cite that there is still room for improvement in the number of black MLB general managers and team ownership across all leagues.

ILLUSTRATION BY ELYS A. MCLEAN

National
Basketball Association

Players

          2005-06   1999-00

White       22%       22%
Black       73%       78%
Latino       3%       <1%
Asian       <1%        0%
Other        1%        0%

Head Coaches

          2005-06   1999-00

White       63%       79%
Black       37%       21%
Latino       0%        0%
Asian        0%        0%

Assistant Coaches

          2005-06   1999-00

White       62%       64%
Black       38%       36%
Latino       1%        0%
Asian        0%        0%

GM/Director Player
Personnel

          2005-06   1999-00

White       77%       84%
Black       23%       16%
Latino       0%        0%
Asian        0%        0%

National
Football League

Players

          2005      1999

White     31.5%       32%
Black     65.5%       67%
Latino      <1%       <1%
Asian        2%        0%
Other       <1%       <1%

Head Coaches

           2005      1999

White       81%       94%
Black       19%        6%
Latino       0%        0%
Asian        0%        0%

Assistant Coaches

           2005      1999

White       66%       72%
Black       32%       28%
Latino       1%        0%
Asian        1%        0%

GM/Director Player
Personnel

           2005      1999

White       87%       87%
Black       13%       13%
Latino       0%        0%
Asian        0%        0%

Major
League
Baseball

Players

           2005      1999

White       60%       60%
Black        9%       13%
Latino      29%       26%
Asian        3%        0%
Other        0%       <1%

Managers

           2005      1999

White       77%       90%
Black       13%        7%
Latino      10%        3%
Asian        0%        0%

Coaches

           2005      1999

White       71%       71%
Black       15%       18%
Latino      14%       10%
Asian        1%        1%

GM/Director Player
Personnel

           2005      1999

White       93%      100%
Black        3%        0%
Latino       3%        0%
Asian        0%        0%

SOURCE: RACIAL AND GENDER
REPORT CARD; UNIVERSITY OF
CENTRAL FLORIDA

Note: Table made from bar graph.