NFL cancels DEI event, then brags about promoting 40 women

The National Football League canceled an upcoming diversity-related event but still reaffirmed its commitment to progressive ideology.

Since 2022, the NFL’s accelerator program has been connecting team executives and owners with coaching talent from select ethnicities to fulfill its goal of interviewing non-white male candidates for coaching and front-office vacancies.

‘The NFL strives to be a unifying force, and we are confident the next evolution of our efforts will take us one step closer to that goal.’

The last accelerator event took place in December 2024 when the NFL held its annual Women’s Forum.

The diversity-centric hiring events are meant to supplement the NFL’s Rooney Rule, a practice the league began in 2003. The rule requires teams to conduct in-person interviews with at least two external and “diverse” candidates for general manager, coaching, and coordinator positions. Diverse candidates are meant to include “minority and/or female” applicants.

Now, the NFL has canceled its latest accelerator event and said its next one will take place in May 2026.

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Jonathan Beane, NFL SVP and Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer in 2024, Las Vegas, Nevada. Photo by Greg Doherty/Getty Images

Fans should not get too excited over the cancelation of the DEI-centric job fair, though. According to NBC Sports, the NFL issued a lengthy diversity statement reaffirming its commitment to race-based policies and programs.

“We believe diversity of thought and background is essential to our success, and it’s reflected in the policies, programs, and partnerships that help us attract, develop, and retain top talent at every level on and off the field,” NFL Chief Administrator Officer Dasha Smith said in a statement.

The NFL executive boasted about several programs, including its December meeting and women’s forum. Smith said that not only did the league advance 40 women in their career paths, but also the NFL is hard at work developing candidates through other events, such as a three-day program at the NFL Combine.

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Photo by Derick E. Hingle/Getty Images

Smith also said the league is looking to “reimagine” the accelerator program — and then made what was certainly a strange, diversity-backed statement about matching it with the ethnicities of football fans.

“We’re steadfast in our commitment to strengthen our talent pipeline and create an environment that reflects the diversity of our fan base,” he said. “The NFL strives to be a unifying force, and we are confident the next evolution of our efforts will take us one step closer to that goal.”

Drawing from this statement, the NFL seems insistent on continuously forcing an increase in non-white male employees and even goes as far as training people in jobs for which they would not otherwise be qualified so that diversity numbers increase.

At the same time, the league said it would not be changing the Rooney Rule, nor would it amend any other efforts that promote DEI.

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