NFL lists women deserving of GM job
Here’s to hoping that buzz about conditions being so ripe in the NFL that one (or more) of the 32 teams will hire a woman as general manager is not a mirage.
You know the deal. The intention means well, supported by leaguewide initiatives. The pipeline has no shortage of qualified candidates. Markers of progress are popping with numbers.
Yet we’re still talking about the NFL here. Ask the Black men who have paid dues to become head coaches but are too often passed over for white coaches with lesser resumes.
Just because it should be a level playing field doesn’t mean it is.
It was enticing, though, to hear Commissioner Roger Goodell maintain at the close of the NFL meetings last week, cautiously, that the hiring of a female GM would be “fantastic.”
Maybe history is just around the corner for women aspiring to become GMs. Then again, perhaps the glass ceiling is made of Plexiglass, and it will take years, maybe more than a decade, to break through in a hiring environment that is steeped in all sorts of bias.
As it stands, the opportunity for a woman to run the football operations for a team in a league that has been so slow for many owners to entrust in such areas is talk, theory and wishful thinking.
“What’s really going to excite me is when people are hired without regard to race, gender, ethnicity or any other individuality, which has no bearing whatsoever as to whether one can do a job,” Amy Trask, former CEO of the Oakland Raiders, told USA TODAY Sports this week.
I hear ya. More than a social statement, merit and equal opportunity should be the driving forces that lead to a woman getting the keys to the car that is a team’s football business.
“What’s going to excite me is when
Las Vegas Raiders president Sandra Douglass Morgan, left, and owner Mark Davis react during an Aug. 13 game against the San Francisco 49ers at Allegiant Stadium. these things are no longer newsworthy,” Trask added. “At some point, it just has to become the norm.”
Trask, protégé of legendary league nemesis Al Davis, was known affectionately by Raiders followers as the “Princess of Darkness” as she ran the franchise’s business operations. She can shine so much light, however, with her perspective on the issue of women wielding power in a male-dominated industry. She hails the NFL’s progress, which includes two female team presidents – Sandra Douglass Morgan of the Raiders and Kristi Coleman of the Carolina Panthers – and a rapid rise in the number of women working on the “football” side with teams across the league.
The 223 women working in full-time coaching and football operations positions with teams this season represent an increase of 141% since 2020, according to NFL figures. That’s significant, too, when considering various allegations of gender discrimination and toxic workplace conditions that have fueled controversy, investigations, and legal actions in recent years.
And the increasing presence of women in the NFL environment is quite a contrast to the league that Trask navigated as Davis’ right-hand woman, so to speak. After interning with the Raiders in the legal department in 1983, Trask rejoined the franchise in 1987 to propel her path to becoming the first female CEO of an NFL franchise.
Trask, now an analyst for CBS and CBS Sports Network, pointed out a fact of life during her NFL career that team owners and other decision-makers should heed when weighing the merits of women as potential GMs or for other high-powered positions.
“There was never one time during the nearly 30 years that I spent in the league that I received what I believed or perceived as any pushback from any player, based on my gender,” Trask said. “Players want to know: Are you contributing? Are you going to help us win?”
The next female GM in the NFL won’t be the first. Susan Tose Spencer served in the role for two years with her father’s team, the Philadelphia Eagles, before the franchise was sold in 1985.
There hasn’t been a woman in the position since. What are the possibilities?
Each year, the NFL’s football operations department, headed by Troy Vincent, compiles a detailed “ready list” of candidates for head coach, coordinator and GM openings. The list, with input from league executives, advisers and industry experts, is aimed to provide a resource for teams and allow exposure for diverse candidates. This year’s list included four women as GM candidates:
Dawn Aponte, the NFL’s senior vice president for football operations.
Jacqueline Davidson, vice president for football research for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Kelly Kleine, executive director of football operations/special adviser to the GM for the Denver Broncos.
Catherine Raiche, assistant general manager for the Cleveland Browns.
Davidson, Kleine and Raiche were participants in the Front Office & GM Accelerator Program held last week in conjunction with the owners meetings in Irving, Texas, along with Ameena Soliman, a pro scout and director of personnel
Tennis players Moore, Gatica cleared in doping case
LONDON – Tennis players Tara Moore and Barbara Gatica were cleared of doping allegations Saturday after investigators ruled that their positive tests for steroids stemmed from contaminated meat they ate while competing in Colombia, the International Tennis Integrity Agency said.
Both women had been provisionally suspended after their samples taken at a WTA tournament in Bogotá in April 2022 were positive for boldenone. Moore’s sample also contained nandrolone.
The ITIA said an independent tribunal determined that Moore and Gatica “bore no fault or negligence for their adverse analytical findings and are therefore not subject to a period of ineligibility.”
The tribunal found that “contaminated meat consumed by each player in the days before sample collection was the source of the prohibited substance(s).”
“The ITIA has issued, and will continue to issue, information concerning the risks of meat contamination in certain parts of the world to all players,” the organization said in Saturday’s announcement.
The suspensions were immediately lifted, although separately Gatica remained under a three-year ban for corruption offenses. Gatica is from Chile and reached a career-best WTA singles ranking of No. 201 in 2022.
Minor, Orioles 3B who replaced Ripken after streak, dies at 49
Ryan Minor, the Baltimore Orioles infielder who became part of baseball history when he replaced Cal Ripken at the end of his record-setting consecutive games streak in 1998, has died. He was 49.
The University of Oklahoma – where Minor starred in baseball and basketball – said he died of cancer Friday. The Orioles also released a statement on social media.
“We are deeply saddened by the passing of former third baseman and longtime minor league manager Ryan Minor, who courageously fought cancer,” the Orioles said. “Our thoughts and prayers are with Ryan’s family and friends at this time.”
Drafted by the Orioles in 1996, Minor operations for the Eagles. And Aponte was also on hand with her duties in the league office.
“There are only 32 of those positions,” Goodell said last week, “but I think the candidates are there.”
Still, there’s hope. Seven women are principal owners of NFL franchises … and women make up nearly half of the NFL’s robust fan base.
And hey, the aforementioned female GM candidates should not be strangers to NFL decision-makers with appreciation for strong track records. Aponte worked extensively in legal matters and contract negotiations during her years with the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins, before assuming duties at NFL headquarters. Davidson, by the way, also worked previously for the Jets, and in addition to playing a key role in contract negotiations, is regarded in league circles as a salary-cap guru and analytics whiz.
Nicole Melton, co-director of the Laboratory for Inclusion & Diversity in Sport at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, maintains that research shows that a key beyond making diverse hires will be for teams to create cultures that are psychologically safe for decision-makers such as GMs to have the latitude to grow. “That will produce better organizations,” Melton told USA TODAY Sports’ Nancy Armour, “that are making better decisions. There’s lots of research that would show that.”
The research comes to life when listening to Trask consider the advice she would offer for women – or anyone, for that matter – to succeed.
“Everybody has to figure out the best way for themselves,” Trask said. “Here’s what worked for me: I never went into a meeting with owners, municipal leaders, bankers, stadium authorities or anyone else, thinking about my gender. If I don’t think about my gender, why should you? It’s a waste of time.
“The point is: Do your job,” she added, in an undeniable Bill Belichick tone. “Work hard. Then work some more. Be the best. Sure, you’ll be tested. Just pass the damn test!”
Jarrett Bell Columnist USA TODAY
IN BRIEF
made his big league debut late in the 1998 season. Then, a week later – on Sept. 20 – he was thrust into the spotlight. In the team’s final home game of the season, Ripken decided to end his streak at 2,632 consecutive games. Minor started at third base for the first time in his career.
“I had no idea when I was coming to the park,” Minor said at the time.
Minor went on to play parts of four seasons for the Orioles and Montreal Expos, appearing in 142 major league games. This past summer, the Delmarva Shorebirds – an Orioles minor league affiliate – made his No. 44 the first jersey number in team history to be retired. He hit 24 home runs for Delmarva in 1997 while working his way toward the majors, and he later managed the team from 2010-12 and 2014-17. He also had multiple stints managing the Frederick Keys.
Manning ascends to backup for Texas with Murphy in portal
AUSTIN, Texas – Quinn Ewers is still the starting quarterback for No. 3 Texas as it prepares to face No. 2 Washington in a College Football Playoff game on Jan. 1.
However, there will be a lot of eyes on the backup with the famous pedigree.
Redshirt freshman Maalik Murphy, who earned the No. 2 role in spring practice and started two games this season when Ewers was injured, recently entered the NCAA transfer portal, with ESPN reporting he’s headed to Duke. His departure elevated freshman Arch Manning, grandson of Archie, nephew to Peyton and Eli, to the backup role.
Manning, the famous five-star recruit, performed mop-up duty at the end of blowout victories against Texas Tech and Oklahoma State in the Longhorns’ two most recent games. He completed 2 of 5 passes for 30 yards against Tech and made a 12-yard run. Manning received a loud, enthusiastic ovation from the Texas home crowd when he walked onto the field against Tech for his college debut.
Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said Manning will be ready if needed.
“He’s more than capable of playing really good football for us,” Sarkisian said. “I think the opportunity that he had to play here against Tech showed what he’s capable of.”