JACKSONVILLE, Florida – The Fritz Pollard Alliance attacked the Jacksonville Jaguars and coach Urban Meyer for hiring Chris Doyle, a former University of Iowa force coach accused of making racist comments and belittling and intimidating players, for being the team of the team. director of sports performance.
Fritz Pollard Alliance executive director Rod Graves issued a statement Friday stating that Boyle’s hiring was unacceptable and described Meyer’s defense of hiring as an example of the problems minority coaches have in the NFL. .
“At a time when the NFL has not solved its problem with racial recruitment practices, it is simply unacceptable to welcome Chris Doyle into the ranks of NFL coaches,” Graves ’statement read. “Doyle’s departure from the University of Iowa reflected a mandate full of bad judgment and mistreatment of black players. His conduct should be as disqualifying for the NFL as it is for the University of Iowa.
“Urban Meyer’s statement, ‘I’ve known Chris for nearly 20 years,’ reflects the network of good guys that’s precisely why there’s a disparity in black coaches’ job opportunities.”
The Fritz Pollard Alliance is an organization dedicated to advocating for diversity in the NFL. They include scouts, coaches and front office staff in the NFL, as well as other sports professionals.
Boyle’s hiring sparked an immediate reaction Thursday, when the team announced the move as part of Meyer’s full coaching staff. Doyle had been Iowa’s director of strength and conditioning from 1999 until last summer, when he and the school reached a separation agreement after numerous former Iowa players talked about abuse within the program. Iowa.
Some of the allegations came from black players and referred to the way Doyle treated them and their use of racist language. Meyer said he investigated Doyle, had intense conversations with him and is confident there will be no problems in the future.
“I see all of our staff members and, as I said, the relationship goes back nearly 20 years and a lot of difficult questions are asked, a lot of research related to all of our staff,” Meyer said. “We did a very good job examining her.
“… I met with our staff and I will be very transparent with all the players as if I were with everything. I will listen carefully and learn, and I will also have to have some confidence in their head coach that we will give them the best of the best, and time will tell … The statements that were made, I will say [to the players] I examined him. I have known the person for almost 20 years and I can assure you that there will be nothing of any kind at the Jaguar facilities. “
Some of the issues raised by the many former Iowa players who spoke on social media last year were: Black and white players had different standards; Black players were mistreated; Doyle and other attendees made racist comments; and black players felt they had to adapt to specific ways and behaviors. His complaints prompted the university to hire a Kansas City law firm to conduct an external investigation into the football program.
The problems were not strictly related to race.
Jack Kallenberger, a former Iowa offensive lineman, said last June on Twitter that he retired from football in January 2019 after becoming heartbroken over what he described as harassment related to a learning difficulty. Doyle was one of the coaches he noted he pointed out.
The university put Doyle on administrative leave on June 6 as a result of these allegations. A day later, Doyle defended himself in a statement posted on Twitter that said, in part, “At no point have I ever crossed the line of behavior or ethical bias based on race. I don’t make racist comments and I don’t tolerate people who do. does “.
On June 14, it was announced that Doyle was in Iowa. Doyle, who was the nation’s highest-paid strength coach with $ 800,000 a year, received 15 months’ salary (about $ 1.1 million), and he and his family were given benefits from Iowa for 15 months or until he found work elsewhere, which he did. this month with the Jaguars.