"The System Is Sick": How Football Neglects Black Coaches
The humidity hangs heavy in the air as I sit with Byron Leftwich under a tent at a recent Buccaneers practice.
在海盗队最近的一次训练中，我和拜伦·莱夫特维奇坐在帐篷下，空气中弥漫着潮湿的气息。
Tampa Bay summers like this can dry a man’s soul.
坦帕湾这样的夏天会让一个人的灵魂变得干燥。
Wear him down.
让他疲惫不堪。
But Leftwich is full of life and its lessons.
但莱夫维奇充满了生活和教训。
“Color really shouldn’t come in mind.
“颜色真的不应该被考虑在内。
And you hope it don’t.
你希望它不会。
Ultimately, you hope it never do.” Leftwich sounds sad as he explains this to me.
最终，你希望它永远不会发生。”当莱夫维奇向我解释这一点时，他听起来很悲伤。
He does not take his position lightly.
他并没有轻视自己的立场。
He knows his career path is tenuous.
他知道他的职业道路是脆弱的。
“Football is a simple game, but nothing about it is easy, right?” he says.
“足球是一项简单的运动，但没有什么是容易的，对吧？”他说。
“When you break it down, it’s all hard.
“当你把它分解时，一切都很难。
Everything is hard.”
一切都很难。”
Leftwich has accomplished something rare in professional football.
莱夫维奇取得了职业足球界罕见的成就。
He became the Arizona Cardinals quarterbacks coach two years ago—his first NFL coaching job—and after hurdling myriad challenges on a middling franchise, he ascended to offensive coordinator after Mike McCoy was fired last October.
两年前，他成为亚利桑那红雀队四分卫教练——这是他的第一份 NFL 教练工作——在一支中等球队中克服了无数挑战后，去年 10 月迈克·麦考伊被解雇后，他升任进攻协调员。
In January, Bruce Arians hired him for the same position in Tampa Bay.
一月份，Bruce Arians 聘请他担任坦帕湾的同一职位。
In many ways, Leftwich is following a familiar trajectory for a young assistant in the NFL.
在很多方面，莱夫维奇都在遵循着 NFL 年轻助教的熟悉轨迹。
But he is a unicorn, one of two black offensive coordinators in 2019 (Kansas City’s Eric Bieniemy is the other).
但他是独角兽，是 2019 年两名黑人进攻协调员之一（另一个是堪萨斯城的埃里克·比尼米）。
Leftwich chatted with Bieniemy about it at the NFL combine this year.
莱夫维奇今年在 NFL 联合训练赛上与比尼米谈论了此事。
He expects the two will exchange “good luck” messages before the season starts in a few weeks.
他预计两人将在几周后赛季开始前交换“祝你好运”的信息。
Leftwich tries not to put additional weight on his broad shoulders.
莱夫维奇尽量不让他宽阔的肩膀承受额外的重量。
He’s been black all his life.
他一生都是黑人。
The same black boy from H.D Woodson High in Washington, D.C., who went on to become a star quarterback at Marshall, a first-round draft pick in 2003, and a Super Bowl champion in 2009, and now one of the few black coaches to hold an offensive coordinator role this decade.
这位来自华盛顿特区 H.D 伍德森高中的黑人男孩后来成为马歇尔大学的明星四分卫，2003 年的首轮选秀，2009 年的超级碗冠军，现在是近十年来少数担任进攻协调员角色的黑人教练之一。
“Don’t let nobody tell you that you don’t know [anything], because you know a lot just by playing.
“不要让任何人告诉你你什么都不知道，因为通过玩你就知道了很多。
You play in this league seven years, you know a lot.
你在这个联盟打了七年，你知道很多。
You know a lot about football and don’t allow nobody to ever sway you on that,” Leftwich says.
你对足球了解很多，并且不允许任何人在这方面影响你，”莱夫维奇说。
Overcoming the odds was no simple task.
克服困难并不是一件简单的任务。
“It’s hard to get here.
“很难到达这里。
It’s hard to make it to this level.
能达到这个水平已经很难了。
…
……
Guys that make it to this level that played in this league, I want them to know, ‘Hey, man, you can coach this game.’”
在这个联盟中达到这个水平的球员，我希望他们知道，‘嘿，伙计，你可以执教这场比赛。’”
It’s a crucial point for Leftwich.
对于莱夫特维奇来说，这是一个关键点。
At one point, coaching was an afterthought after he finished his nine-year playing career in 2012.
2012年，他结束了九年的职业生涯后，执教一度成为了他事后才想到的事情。
“I finally talked him into it,” Arians tells me.
“我终于说服了他，”阿里安斯告诉我。
“He wanted to play golf all the time!
“他一直想打高尔夫球！
Shit.
妈的。
He had plenty of money, plenty of money.
他有很多钱，很多钱。
He wasn’t looking for a job.” Every year, Arians asked Leftwich, “‘Hey, you ready yet?
他并不是在找工作。”每年，阿里安斯都会问莱夫维奇：“‘嘿，你准备好了吗？
You ready yet?’” Leftwich finally called in 2015 to tell his former coach he wanted to test the waters, and Arians brought him onto his Cardinals staff as an intern in May 2016.
你准备好了吗？’”莱夫维奇最终在 2015 年打电话告诉他的前教练他想试水，阿里安斯在 2016 年 5 月将他带入红雀队作为实习生。
Buccaneers offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich talks with quarterback Jameis Winston Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports As Leftwich speaks, I notice how proud he is of his second life in football.
海盗队进攻协调员拜伦·莱夫维奇与四分卫杰梅斯·温斯顿·金·克莱门特交谈——《今日美国》体育 当莱夫维奇讲话时，我注意到他对自己的第二次足球生涯感到多么自豪。
He lives for his players and the new Buccaneers gear he sports.
他为他的球员和他所穿着的海盗队新装备而生。
He’s vital to the process of rejuvenating a moribund franchise—Tampa Bay has finished last in its division in seven of the past eight years—yet he’s an outlier in his profession.
他对于振兴这支濒临倒闭的球队至关重要——坦帕湾在过去八年中有七年在分区中垫底——但他在自己的职业生涯中却是个异类。
This season, 15 NFL teams will have a new offensive play-caller: Seven of those coaches are 40 years old or younger and, except for Leftwich, they are all white.
本赛季，15支NFL球队将迎来新的进攻主帅：其中7名教练年龄在40岁以下，除了莱夫特维奇外，他们都是白人。
Football’s most precious coaching commodities are overwhelmingly white men early in their NFL careers.
橄榄球界最宝贵的教练资源绝大多数是处于 NFL 职业生涯早期的白人。
The league’s power brokers are free to prioritize youth, and value innovation, in a coaching search.
联盟的权力掮客在寻找教练时可以自由地优先考虑年轻人并重视创新。
It becomes problematic if the talent pool that decision-makers are choosing from is mostly homogenous.
如果决策者选择的人才库大多是同质的，就会出现问题。
The search for the next Sean McVay has yielded a group of coaches molded in his image.
在寻找下一个肖恩·麦克维的过程中，出现了一批以他为形象的教练。
Matt LaFleur.
马特·拉弗勒尔。
Kevin Stefanski.
凯文·斯特凡斯基。
Kellen Moore.
凯伦·摩尔。
Zac Taylor.
扎克·泰勒.
Offensive geniuses, in this telling, more frequently resemble Kliff Kingsbury than Leftwich.
从这个角度来看，进攻天才更多地类似于克里夫·金斯伯里而不是莱夫维奇。
Teams are looking for offensive specialists to jump-start their franchises.
球队正在寻找进攻专家来启动他们的球队。
It’s the current trend in a copycat league: The Cardinals hired Kingsbury as their head coach six weeks after Texas Tech fired him; Taylor got the Bengals job after serving as McVay’s quarterbacks coach with the Rams.
这是山寨联盟目前的趋势：在德克萨斯理工大学解雇金斯伯里六周后，红雀队聘请了金斯伯里作为他们的主教练；泰勒在担任公羊队麦克维的四分卫教练后得到了孟加拉虎队的工作。
But black coaches don’t feature prominently in discussions about offensive coaches.
但在关于进攻型教练的讨论中，黑人教练并不突出。
A Denver Post analysis in 2017 studied NFL hires from 2007 to 2017 and found that 110 of the 147 offensive coordinator positions filled during that time went to a former NFL and/or college quarterbacks coach.
《丹佛邮报》2017 年的一项分析研究了 NFL 2007 年至 2017 年的招聘情况，发现在此期间填补的 147 个进攻协调员职位中，有 110 个由前 NFL 和/或大学四分卫教练担任。
Of those 110 jobs, five went to black coaches.
在这 110 个工作岗位中，有 5 个由黑人教练担任。
Three of those five went to the same coach: Hue Jackson.
这五人中的三人去了同一个教练：休·杰克逊。
The last NFL coaching cycle tells a troubling story about representation for coaches of color at the highest levels of the sport.
上一个 NFL 教练周期讲述了一个关于有色人种教练在这项运动最高水平上的代表性的令人不安的故事。
Truthfully, every offseason does.
说实话，每个休赛期都是如此。
There are systemic barriers that prevent black coaches from progressing in the industry.
存在阻碍黑人教练在该行业进步的系统性障碍。
They know it.
他们知道。
They see their white colleagues running teams as they labor for decades as assistants.
他们看到自己的白人同事在担任数十年助理的同时管理着团队。
We rush to anoint the McVays and Kingsburys of the world as the great new minds in football.
我们急于将麦克维家族和金斯伯里家族推崇为足球界伟大的新思想家。
But it appears no one is looking for the next black coaching wunderkind.
但似乎没有人在寻找下一位黑人教练神童。
“We’re a powerful league.
“我们是一个强大的联盟。
We’re capable of doing a lot of things, and I think we can fix this issue, but I don’t personally know how,” Leftwich tells me.
我们有能力做很多事情，我认为我们可以解决这个问题，但我个人不知道如何解决，”莱夫维奇告诉我。
He sighs.
他叹了口气。
“Maybe one day I do have an answer on how to get this minority coaching situation figured out,” he says.
“也许有一天我确实能找到解决少数派教练问题的答案，”他说。
But, “it’s not up to me to figure it out.”
但是，“这不是我能解决的”。
49ers tight ends coach Jon Embree In November 2012, Jon Embree got emotional during a press conference to announce his firing as the University of Colorado’s football coach.
49 人队近端锋教练乔恩·恩布里 2012 年 11 月，乔恩·恩布里在新闻发布会上情绪激动地宣布解雇科罗拉多大学橄榄球教练一职。
Embree, a former tight end for the Buffaloes, inherited a disastrous team and won just four games in two seasons.
恩布雷是水牛队的前近端锋，他接手的是一支灾难性的球队，在两个赛季中只赢了四场比赛。
He was the first black head coach in the program’s history, and one of 15 black head coaches in Division I at the time.
他是该项目历史上第一位黑人主教练，也是当时一级联赛 15 名黑人主教练之一。
“We don’t get second chances,” Embree said of black coaches.
“我们没有第二次机会，”恩布雷谈到黑人教练时说道。
He later told the Denver Post : “You know we don’t get opportunities.
他后来告诉《丹佛邮报》：“你知道我们没有机会。
At the end of the day, you get fired and that’s it, right, wrong or indifferent.
到最后，你会被解雇，就是这样，无论对、错还是无所谓。
…
……
We get bad jobs and no time to fix it.”
我们的工作很糟糕，却没有时间去解决。”
Embree, now a tight ends coach with the San Francisco 49ers, was describing a problem black coaches in the NFL know all too well.
Embree 现在是旧金山 49 人队的近端锋教练，他描述了 NFL 黑人教练再熟悉不过的问题。
The same year Colorado dismissed Embree, the league tapped Carlton Keith Harrison and Scott Bukstein, academics at the University of Central Florida, to study occupational mobility within the league.
同年，科罗拉多州解雇了 Embree，联盟聘请了中佛罗里达大学的学者卡尔顿·基思·哈里森 (Carlton Keith Harrison) 和斯科特·布克斯坦 (Scott Bukstein) 来研究联盟内的职业流动性。
They published their findings in a report that addressed systemic barriers that coaches and personnel of color face, and provided data-driven policy recommendations to improve hiring conditions.
他们在一份报告中发表了他们的发现，解决了有色人种教练和人员面临的系统性障碍，并提供了数据驱动的政策建议，以改善招聘条件。
The data is made public every year and is released without much fanfare or publicity by the league.
该数据每年都会公开，并且联盟不会大肆宣传或宣传。
This year’s report echoes Embree’s sentiment from seven years ago.
今年的报告呼应了 Embree 七年前的观点。
“Historically,” it reads, “NFL teams have been reluctant to hire a person of color for a head coach, offensive coordinator or defensive coordinator position after a person of color has previously served as a head coach in the NFL.”
“从历史上看，”它写道，“在有色人种曾担任过 NFL 的主教练后，NFL 球队一直不愿意聘请有色人种担任主教练、进攻协调员或防守协调员职位。”
The NFL has data tracking the occupational mobility of its coaches dating back to 1963.
NFL 拥有自 1963 年以来追踪其教练职业流动性的数据。
During that span, there have been 18 different black head coaches and four Latino head coaches in the league.
在此期间，联盟中有 18 位黑人主教练和 4 位拉丁裔主教练。
In 2019, there are four head coaches of color, three of them black, compared to 28 white head coaches in a league in which more than 70 percent of the players are black.
2019 年，联盟中有 4 名有色人种主教练，其中 3 名黑人，而联盟中有 28 名白人主教练，其中 70% 以上的球员是黑人。
Since 1963, 112 white coaches have been hired as a head coach, offensive coordinator, or defensive coordinator after already having one head-coaching job, compared to 18 coaches of color in the same situation.
自1963年以来，已有112名白人教练在担任过一份主教练后又被聘为主教练、进攻协调员或防守协调员，而同等情况下有18名有色人种教练。
For white coaches who have had two head-coaching jobs, 24 have been hired to these same roles in the future, compared to three coaches of color.
对于担任过两份主教练职位的白人教练来说，未来将有 24 名白人教练担任同样的职务，而有色人种教练只有 3 名。
The most recent coaching cycle paints a bleak picture.
最近的教练周期描绘了一幅黯淡的景象。
Of 36 open positions at head coach, coordinator, or general manager, 30 of those hires were white candidates.
在主教练、协调员或总经理的 36 个空缺职位中，其中 30 名是白人候选人。
According to the study, by February 2019, there were six fewer men of color serving as either an NFL head coach, defensive or offensive coordinator, or general manager than there were in February 2018.
根据该研究，到 2019 年 2 月，担任 NFL 主教练、防守或进攻协调员或总经理的有色人种男性人数比 2018 年 2 月减少了六人。
Data provided by the league office shows that, as of February of this year, NFL teams interviewed or sought to interview 61 total candidates for eight open head-coaching positions.
联盟办公室提供的数据显示，截至今年2月，NFL球队已面试或寻求面试8个空缺主教练职位的总共61名候选人。
Only 31 percent were coaches of color, and only seven of those candidates actually interviewed for those jobs.
只有 31% 是有色人种教练，而且其中只有 7 名候选人真正参加了这些职位的面试。
The primary challenge for candidates of color, according to Harrison and Bukstein’s report, is breaking into the ever-elusive head-coaching pipeline.
根据哈里森和布克斯坦的报告，有色人种候选人面临的主要挑战是闯入难以捉摸的主教练梯队。
When teams keep hiring the same people to different roles, it creates what they described as a “reshuffling effect,” an outcome that reduces opportunities for new coaches, especially those of color.
当团队不断雇用相同的人担任不同的角色时，就会产生他们所说的“重新洗牌效应”，这种结果会减少新教练的机会，尤其是有色人种教练。
And lesser performances by white coaches are rewarded more than, or equal to, greater work by their black counterparts.
白人教练的较差表现所获得的奖励高于或等于黑人教练的出色表现。
This flattens how quickly talent of color can experience upward mobility.
这降低了有色人种人才向上流动的速度。
“If you get fired and you’re a person of color,” says Harrison, the lead researcher, “the odds that you’re going to get reshuffled ever” are slim.
首席研究员哈里森说：“如果你被解雇，而且你是有色人种，那么你被重新洗牌的可能性很小”。
At this point, he says, “it’s not even refutable.”
他说，在这一点上，“甚至无法反驳。”
A 2016 Georgetown University research paper explained how leaders of organizations remain predominantly white despite efforts to increase racial representation in leadership positions.
乔治城大学 2016 年的一篇研究论文解释了尽管努力增加领导职位中的种族代表性，组织的领导者为何仍然以白人为主。
To anchor their assertions, researchers analyzed more than 1,200 NFL coaches at all levels from 1985 to 2012.
为了证实他们的观点，研究人员分析了 1985 年至 2012 年间 1,200 多名 NFL 各级教练。
They found that white assistant coaches were promoted at higher rates and made up over 70 percent of the hiring pool.
他们发现，白人助理教练的晋升率更高，占招聘队伍的 70% 以上。
There was “clear evidence of a racial disparity in promotion prospects for NFL assistant coaches that have persisted for over two decades despite a high-profile intervention designed to advance the candidacies of minority candidates,” the researchers wrote.
研究人员写道，“有明显的证据表明，美国国家橄榄球联盟助理教练的晋升前景存在种族差异，尽管为了推动少数族裔候选人的候选资格而进行了高调的干预，但这种差异仍然持续了二十多年。”
They identified racial bias in lower-level coaching positions, such as receivers or defensive backs, and found that coaches of color are often hired into positions with inferior promotion prospects.
他们发现了低级别教练职位（例如接球手或防守后卫）中存在种族偏见，并发现有色人种教练经常被聘用到晋升前景较差的职位。
Black and white coaches overseeing the same position don’t advance equally, either.
负责同一职位的黑人和白人教练的晋升也不尽相同。
Black coaches, the study found, are 114 percent less likely to become coordinators than their white counterparts.
研究发现，黑人教练成为协调员的可能性比白人教练低 114%。
“It still goes back to who’s doing the hiring and what they’re looking for,” says Stanford head coach David Shaw.
“这仍然取决于谁在招聘以及他们在寻找什么，”斯坦福大学主教练大卫·肖说。
“And unlike most professions, there is no ladder.
“与大多数职业不同的是，这里没有阶梯。
Anything that looks like a ladder is false.
任何看起来像梯子的东西都是假的。
It’s not a ladder.
这不是梯子。
It has nothing to do with experience.
这与经验无关。
…
……
It still boils down to who is making that decision and what are they looking for.
归根结底还是取决于谁在做出这个决定以及他们在寻找什么。
And our job is to make sure that there is somewhat of an open process, as much of a process we can have, that the viable candidates are considered.”
我们的工作是确保有一个开放的流程，尽可能多的流程，以考虑可行的候选人。”
The obstacles presented are not easily overcome.
所面临的障碍并不容易克服。
Unless the structure changes, candidates of color will continue to be at a disadvantage in the hiring process.
除非结构发生变化，否则有色人种候选人将继续在招聘过程中处于不利地位。
No hard work, no prodding, no representation at the highest level will change that.
任何努力、任何刺激、任何最高层的代表都不会改变这一点。
These factors create divergent outcomes for black and white coaches.
这些因素给黑人和白人教练带来了不同的结果。
Harrison and Bukstein’s study found that black coaches experience different rates of promotion than white coaches and are less likely to attain authoritative positions.
哈里森和布克斯坦的研究发现，黑人教练的晋升率与白人教练不同，并且不太可能获得权威职位。
Some of this, they argue, can be attributed to an unconscious bias in the hiring process on the part of white decision-makers, in which the résumés and skills of black coaches are devalued.
他们认为，其中部分原因可以归因于白人决策者在招聘过程中存在无意识的偏见，黑人教练的简历和技能被贬低。
Black coaches are also disadvantaged in a system where social connections serve as professional capital.
在社会关系作为职业资本的体系中，黑人教练也处于不利地位。
“I don’t think it’s ever been equal,” says Chargers head coach Anthony Lynn.
“我认为从来没有平等过，”闪电队主教练安东尼·林恩说。
“You know, the NFL is a great organization, but you can’t exempt the NFL from the rest of the world.
“你知道，NFL 是一个伟大的组织，但你不能将 NFL 排除在世界其他地方之外。
How quickly are we moving up in the world?
我们在世界上的进步速度有多快？
I don’t think it’s as fast as we would like.”
我认为它没有我们希望的那么快。”
It makes the question Harrison poses in his study so important.
这使得哈里森在他的研究中提出的问题变得如此重要。
“Would a coach of color be fired from a collegiate-level job and then hired by an NFL team as its new head coach?” Harrison asks.
“一名有色人种教练会被大学级别的职位解雇，然后被 NFL 球队聘为新任主教练吗？”哈里森问道。
“There is no data to support this would occur.” People say Kingsbury “looks the part,” Harrison tells me.
“没有数据支持这种情况会发生。”人们说金斯伯里“看起来很合适”，哈里森告诉我。
He’s not wrong.
他没有错。
The white faces holding powerful positions at every level of the game have damagingly become football’s normalcy.
白人面孔在比赛的各个层面都占据着重要位置，这已经成为足球界的常态，具有破坏性。
NFL executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images In June, the NFL hosted a quarterback coaching summit at Morehouse College, a historically black institution in Atlanta, bringing together the best black minds in the game.
NFL 橄榄球运营执行副总裁 Troy Vincent 摄影：Rob Carr/Getty Images 6 月，NFL 在亚特兰大历史悠久的黑人院校莫尔豪斯学院举办了一场四分卫教练峰会，汇聚了足球界最优秀的黑人人才。
Troy Vincent, a former All-Pro and the league’s executive vice president of football operations, listened as black coaches from all levels of the sport shared their stories and offered their advice.
前全职业球员、联盟足球运营执行副总裁特洛伊·文森特（Troy Vincent）聆听了来自这项运动各个级别的黑人教练分享的故事并提出了建议。
In his closing remarks, Vincent responded with a passionate appeal.
文森特在闭幕词中以热情的呼吁予以回应。
“God damn it, we know this game,” he said.
“该死的，我们知道这个游戏，”他说。
“We can coach it and we can teach it.
“我们可以指导它，我们可以教导它。
All we’re asking for is a fair process.”
我们所要求的只是一个公平的过程。”
Vincent was involved in the league’s decision to commission Harrison and Bukstein’s annual study.
文森特参与了联盟委托哈里森和布克斯坦进行年度研究的决定。
“It’s important that we don’t hide,” Vincent tells me in July.
“重要的是我们不要隐藏，”文森特七月告诉我。
He wanted the league to have a look in the mirror.
他希望联盟能够照照镜子。
The past seven years of evaluation have caused Vincent and the league to ask what they can control in the fickle process of hiring coaches.
过去七年的评估让文森特和联盟开始思考，在教练的聘用过程中，他们能控制什么？
“As an organization,” he says, “what can we do?” The role of the league, he says, is to assist the clubs, be a resource, and identify and develop talent and then mentor coaches for the next phase of their career.
“作为一个组织，”他说，“我们能做什么？”他说，联盟的作用是协助俱乐部，成为资源，识别和培养人才，然后为教练的职业生涯的下一阶段提供指导。
He recognizes what he describes as the “trend” of looking for offensive-minded coaches.
他认识到他所说的寻找进攻型教练的“趋势”。
He touted the quarterback summit as a way of bringing in a bevy of black play-callers and praised the fellowships and internships that coaches of color frequently receive to work inside franchises.
他称赞四分卫峰会是引进一群黑人球员的一种方式，并赞扬有色人种教练经常获得在球队内部工作的奖学金和实习机会。
But Vincent didn’t have an answer for why these efforts haven’t produced better results.
但文森特没有回答为什么这些努力没有产生更好的结果。
“We’re just trying to control what we can control,” Vincent says.
“我们只是想控制我们能控制的事情，”文森特说。
“And that is to continue to prepare those individuals that have been identified, to get them ready so that when that opportunity arises, we hope that decision-maker is looking across the board,” and picks a black coach.
“那就是继续让那些已经确定的人做好准备，让他们做好准备，这样当机会出现时，我们希望决策者能够全面考虑，”并挑选一名黑人教练。
“No one likes the results,” he admits.
“没有人喜欢这个结果，”他承认。
“But the results are the results.”
“但结果就是结果。”
Vincent consistently told me that the NFL wants to be a model for diversity initiatives, that diversity is good for business, and that the NFL is like any other American organization.
文森特一直告诉我，NFL 希望成为多元化举措的典范，多元化有利于商业，而且 NFL 与任何其他美国组织一样。
“We can probably talk about the organization you work for and all others,” Vincent says.
“我们或许可以谈论你工作的组织和所有其他组织，”文森特说。
“We see the disparity all across America.
“我们看到美国各地都存在差异。
It’s been that way for a long time.”
很长一段时间以来都是这样。”
Vincent says the league doesn’t believe the Rooney rule needs to be altered, though numerous black coaches I’ve spoken with say it’s often used as a box-check for organizations who aren’t serious about hiring a coach of color.
文森特说，联盟认为鲁尼规则不需要改变，尽管我采访过的许多黑人教练表示，对于那些不认真雇用有色人种教练的组织来说，它经常被用作检查。
I ask Vincent whether the league can do more to push teams to be better on the issue.
我问文森特，联盟是否可以采取更多措施来推动球队在这个问题上做得更好。
He says the league is doing all it can.
他说联盟正在竭尽全力。
“We cannot require the club or make the club hire.
“我们不能要求俱乐部或让俱乐部雇用。
You’re going to hire who you think is best suited to run your organization.”
你将雇用你认为最适合管理你的组织的人。”
The league supports these coaches and hypes them at motivational summits, but is hesitant to lead on the issue.
联盟支持这些教练，并在励志峰会上大肆宣传他们，但在这个问题上领导却犹豫不决。
It’s content to let individual franchises conduct their own hiring processes.
它满足于让各个特许经营商进行自己的招聘流程。
If there were corrective measures, or consequences, football’s hiring powers would be pushed to do more than they have.
如果有纠正措施或后果，足球界的招聘权力将被迫做更多的事情。
As is, the shield is safeguarding their most profitable stakeholders, ensuring that progress is a foregone reality.
事实上，盾牌正在保护最有利可图的利益相关者，确保进展成为既定的现实。
Rod Graves, chairman of the Fritz Pollard Alliance Photo by Al Pereira/New York Jets/Getty Images “The system is sick,” Rod Graves tells me over dinner in Washington, D.C., one night in July.
罗德·格雷夫斯 (Rod Graves)，弗里茨·波拉德联盟 (Fritz Pollard Alliance) 主席 摄影：Al Pereira/New York Jets/Getty Images 7 月的一个晚上，罗德·格雷夫斯 (Rod Graves) 在华盛顿特区吃晚饭时告诉我：“这个系统病了。”
Graves, a longtime front-office executive, is the new face of the Fritz Pollard Alliance , an advocacy group formed in 2003 that works to improve hiring practices for coaches and executives of color in the NFL.
格雷夫斯是一位长期担任前台高管的人，也是弗里茨·波拉德联盟 (Fritz Pollard Alliance) 的新面孔，该联盟是一个成立于 2003 年的倡导组织，致力于改善 NFL 中有色人种教练和高管的招聘做法。
It’s Graves’s job to be a voice for change.
格雷夫斯的工作就是为变革发声。
It’s not like he’s unfamiliar with the game.
他对这个游戏并不陌生。
The 60-year-old from Houston worked in the NFL for three decades, including a 15-year career with the Cardinals, where he served as vice president of football operations (1997-2001) as well as general manager (2002-12).
这位来自休斯敦的 60 岁老人在 NFL 工作了三十年，其中在红雀队工作了 15 年，担任橄榄球运营副总裁（1997-2001 年）和总经理（2002-12 年）。
Under the dim restaurant lights, Graves appears visibly troubled.
在餐厅昏暗的灯光下，格雷夫斯显得很困扰。
How can he succeed where others before him have failed?
他如何能在其他人都失败的地方取得成功？
“The thing that I tend to get a little bit emotional about when it comes to the focus of the league now is the idea that we need to be focused on the pipeline,” he says.
“当谈到现在联盟的焦点时，我往往会有点情绪化，因为我们需要专注于管道，”他说。
Black and brown talent has always existed, he says, and the league acts as if there hasn’t been a crop of diverse coaching talent whiling away on teams each season.
他说，黑人和棕色人种的人才一直存在，而联盟的表现就好像每个赛季都没有一批多元化的教练人才在球队中消磨时光。
“We have not given enough attention to those who have given their lives to becoming professionals, who are really good and ready today,” he says.
“我们没有对那些为成为专业人士而献出生命的人给予足够的关注，他们今天已经非常优秀并做好了准备，”他说。
“We ignore that group as if they don’t really exist.
“我们忽略了这个群体，就好像他们不存在一样。
There are well over 100 coaches of color in the league, and yet we don’t talk enough about those who are in the same category [Chargers coach] Anthony Lynn was in several years ago.
联盟中有超过 100 名有色人种教练，但我们对几年前安东尼·林恩 (闪电队教练) 属于同一类别的人谈论得不够多。
…
……
Guys deserve an opportunity.
伙计们应该有机会。
And yet, they’ve not been called for one interview.”
然而，他们还没有被要求接受采访。”
Graves will make an impact if he can change the messaging around hiring practices for coaches of color.
如果格雷夫斯能够改变有关有色人种教练招聘做法的信息，他将会产生影响。
He agrees with Vincent that diversity is good business.
他同意文森特的观点，即多元化是好生意。
“It’s positive for our fans,” Graves tells me.
“这对我们的粉丝来说是积极的，”格雷夫斯告诉我。
“When people look at who the leaders are and the opinions expressed out of an organization, they tend to feel there’s opportunities in the National Football League for all of us.
“当人们看到谁是领导者以及组织表达的意见时，他们往往会觉得国家橄榄球联盟对我们所有人都有机会。
The game is not just for a privileged few.
这个游戏不只是少数特权人士的专利。
Those things suggest the game is available to everyone.
这些事情表明该游戏适合所有人。
And it should be.”
也应该如此。”
Graves spent 30 years working alongside the league’s decision-makers, including its billionaire owners.
格雷夫斯花了 30 年时间与联盟决策者（包括其亿万富翁老板）一起工作。
He believes quantifying the economic benefits of diversity, and communicating it effectively to the league’s power brokers, will be powerful tools for the Fritz Pollard Alliance.
他认为，量化多样性的经济效益，并将其有效地传达给联盟的权力掮客，将成为弗里茨·波拉德联盟的强大工具。
The owners speak in dollars and cents, and that is one way Graves intends to articulate his message.
业主们用美元和美分说话，这是格雷夫斯想要表达他的信息的一种方式。
“What we have to do is somehow have more conversations about how diversity affects the bottom line,” he says.
“我们要做的就是以某种方式就多样性如何影响底线进行更多对话，”他说。
But even he understands this is a long shot.
但即使是他也明白，这希望渺茫。
“We may not necessarily change opinions.
“我们不一定会改变观点。
But owners certainly are concerned about money.
但业主肯定关心钱。
If we can show that diversity is more profitable for their business, we’ll get more diversity-related approaches in business plans of owners.”
如果我们能够证明多元化对他们的业务来说更有利可图，我们就会在业主的商业计划中采用更多与多元化相关的方法。”
Within their advocacy, leaders like Graves need to grapple with the reasons these coaches are hobbled in their profession.
在他们的倡导下，像格雷夫斯这样的领导者需要解决这些教练在职业生涯中陷入困境的原因。
Steve Wilks and Vance Joseph were both fired last year, the former after one season with the Cardinals and the latter after two seasons with the Broncos.
史蒂夫·威尔克斯和万斯·约瑟夫去年都被解雇，前者在红雀队效力了一个赛季，后者在野马队效力了两个赛季后被解雇。
Both will be defensive coordinators in 2019.
两人都将在2019年担任防守协调员。
It’s as Jon Embree preached seven years ago: Even with the right people in power, candidates of color have difficulty getting second chances.
正如乔恩·恩布里七年前宣扬的那样：即使有合适的人掌权，有色人种候选人也很难获得第二次机会。
They are given short strings and asked to knit full sweaters.
他们得到短绳并要求编织长毛衣。
Graves promises me he sees this.
格雷夫斯向我保证他会看到这一点。
He had to fight for his opportunities in NFL front offices, and hopes to use the rest of his life to change a broken system.
他必须为自己在 NFL 管理层的机会而奋斗，并希望用自己的余生来改变破碎的体系。
He’s willing to wrestle with the obvious.
他愿意与显而易见的事情斗争。
“Most are hesitant to say, but the standards are different,” Graves says.
“大多数人都不愿意说，但标准是不同的，”格雷夫斯说。
“For whatever reasons why people decide to go in a certain direction, I’m not questioning the legitimacy of those reasons, but what I am questioning is why don’t people of color get the same opportunities in the same situations?” He sits for a second with his thoughts.
“无论出于何种原因，人们决定朝某个方向前进，我并不是质疑这些原因的合法性，但我质疑的是，为什么有色人种在同样的情况下不能获得同样的机会？”他坐了一会儿思考。
“You have to certainly consider racism,” he admits.
“你当然必须考虑种族主义，”他承认。
“You have to put it in the context of a bias.
“你必须把它放在偏见的背景下。
There is a bias and that bias is working against these coaches.”
这是存在偏见的，而这种偏见正在对这些教练产生不利影响。”
Chargers head coach Anthony Lynn Photo by Ralph Freso/Getty Images Anthony Lynn tells me two stories this summer.
闪电队主教练安东尼·林恩 摄影：Ralph Freso/Getty Images 安东尼·林恩今年夏天给我讲了两个故事。
As a rookie running back for the Broncos in 1992, Lynn and his teammates developed a ritual on game days.
1992 年，作为野马队的新秀跑卫，林恩和他的队友在比赛日养成了一种习惯。
To kill time while they were sitting in the locker room before games, they flipped through team media guides, looking for something specific: How many black faces coached on the Giants?
为了在比赛前坐在更衣室里消磨时间，他们翻阅了球队媒体指南，寻找一些具体的东西：巨人队有多少黑人教练？
Or the Lions?
还是狮子队？
Or anywhere?
或者任何地方？
“You’d just flip through the pages, and I just remember we would be well aware of how many African Americans were on staff,” Lynn tells me.
“你只需翻阅这些页面，我就记得我们会很清楚员工中有多少非裔美国人，”林恩告诉我。
“Hey!
“嘿！
I want to play here one day,” players yelled across the locker room.
我想有一天在这里打球，”球员们在更衣室里喊道。
“You know this company right here is really diverse.”
“你知道这家公司真的很多元化。”
Lynn said he wouldn’t be surprised if current players had a similar ritual.
林恩表示，如果现在的球员有类似的仪式，他不会感到惊讶。
“You’re well aware of which organizations have the most diversity.
“你很清楚哪些组织最具多样性。
It’s just something that interests minority players,” he says.
这只是少数人感兴趣的事情，”他说。
The second tale Lynn tells me is just as important.
林恩告诉我的第二个故事同样重要。
When Lynn was a child, his grandfather would speak to him before football practices.
当林恩还是个孩子的时候，他的祖父会在足球训练前和他说话。
One day, Lynn said he told him: “To go where you want to go, you’re going to have to run faster.”
有一天，林恩说他告诉他：“要想去你想去的地方，你就必须跑得更快。”
“Grandpa,” a precocious Lynn shot back.
“爷爷。”早熟的林恩反驳道。
“What are you talking about?
“你在说什么？
I’m the fastest kid on the team!”
我是队里跑得最快的孩子！”
“One day,” his grandfather said.
“有一天，”他的祖父说。
“You’re going to understand what I’m talking about.”
“你会明白我在说什么的。”
“Well,” Lynn tells me now, “it took a while, but I understand exactly what he was talking about now.
“嗯，”林恩现在告诉我，“花了一段时间，但我现在完全明白他在说什么。
That’s just the way I was raised.
这就是我的成长方式。
I knew the rules of the game, and I knew that it wasn’t always going to be fair and I knew that I was going to be better, that I was going to have to try harder.”
我知道游戏规则，我知道这并不总是公平的，我知道我会变得更好，我必须更加努力。”
Lynn says his grandfather’s advice prepared him for life and for his future in the NFL.
林恩说，他祖父的建议为他的生活和 NFL 的未来做好了准备。
“Nothing really surprised me,” he says.
“没有什么让我真正感到惊讶，”他说。
He notices when the goalposts move for black and brown coaches.
他注意到黑人和棕色人种教练的球门柱何时移动。
He thinks the criteria changed this year as teams looked for the next offensive mastermind, even if those coaches have limited NFL experience, or any at all.
他认为今年的标准发生了变化，因为球队正在寻找下一个进攻策划者，即使这些教练的 NFL 经验有限，或者根本没有。
“When I went through the process, that pissed me off,” Lynn says.
“当我经历这个过程时，这让我很生气，”林恩说。
“I was told by an owner that he wanted to hire me and the reason why he didn’t hire me was because I hadn’t been a coordinator and the other guy had.
“一位老板告诉我，他想雇用我，但他没有雇用我的原因是因为我不是协调员，而另一个人是。
And I said, ‘Don’t take this the wrong way, but I think that’s fucked up.’”
我说，‘别误会，但我认为这太糟糕了。’”
“Don’t tell me I have to check the box to be a coordinator before I can be a head coach, and then two years later you hire young guys that never called a play a day in their life,” he continues.
“别告诉我，在我成为一名主教练之前，我必须先成为一名协调员，然后两年后，你雇佣了那些一生中从未参加过比赛的年轻人，”他继续说道。
Lynn’s frustration was a common theme with many of the coaches I spoke to.
林恩的沮丧是我采访过的许多教练的共同主题。
The criteria change, and they are passed over for younger white coaches.
标准发生了变化，年轻的白人教练就忽略了这些标准。
They have to wait longer to ascend in their profession if they ever get the call at all.
如果他们真的接到电话，他们必须等待更长的时间才能在职业上得到提升。
After Rex Ryan was fired by the Jets in 2014, Lynn was asked to interview for the head-coaching vacancy.
2014 年，雷克斯·瑞安 (Rex Ryan) 被喷气机队解雇后，林恩 (Lynn) 被要求面试主教练职位。
He said he nearly declined because he said he knew it was a Rooney rule interview.
他说他几乎拒绝了，因为他说他知道这是鲁尼规则的采访。
“I was like, you gotta be out of your damn mind!” He changed his mind after his friends called him and told him to take the interview.
“我当时想，你一定是疯了！”在朋友打电话让他接受采访后，他改变了主意。
He didn’t get the Jets job but was hired as the Chargers’ head coach a few seasons later.
他没有得到喷气机队的工作，但几个赛季后被聘为闪电队主教练。
It doesn’t work out that way for many coaches, however.
然而，对于许多教练来说，情况并非如此。
Lynn spent 17 years on the sideline before his number was called.
在他的号码被叫到之前，林恩在场边度过了 17 年。
Being on the opposite end can be just as draining.
处于相反的一端同样会让人筋疲力尽。
Raheem Morris was a young, upstart coach when he got his first head-coaching gig in 2009, at 32 years old, with the Buccaneers.
2009 年，32 岁的拉希姆·莫里斯 (Raheem Morris) 在海盗队首次担任主教练，当时他是一位年轻的新贵教练。
He was fired after three seasons.
三个赛季后他被解雇了。
The NFL’s mobility data suggests it’s unlikely he’ll get the head-coaching hat again.
NFL 的流动性数据表明他不太可能再次担任主教练。
“I know it’s frustrating,” says Morris, the Falcons’ assistant head coach and offensive passing game coordinator.
“我知道这很令人沮丧，”猎鹰队助理主教练兼进攻传球协调员莫里斯说。
He tries not to spend too much time wondering whether he got a fair shake in Tampa Bay.
他尽量不花太多时间思考自己在坦帕湾是否得到了公平对待。
“I’m 42 now.
“我现在42岁了。
It’s been 10 years, and I think my time will come again.
10年过去了，我想我的时代还会再来。
I want to be one of the few guys that you’re talking about that got the second opportunity.”
我想成为你所说的少数获得第二次机会的人之一。”
Morris tells me it’s important not to get stagnant, or to make excuses, to only move forward.
莫里斯告诉我，重要的是不要停滞不前，也不要找借口，只有不断前进。
I ask him whether doing that can overcome the inherent biases keeping him and others out of head-coaching offices, or combat a hiring process that selects from a pool of mostly white coaches for head jobs.
我问他，这样做是否可以克服使他和其他人远离主教练办公室的固有偏见，或者是否可以对抗从大多数白人教练中挑选担任主教练的招聘流程。
This rejection is one of the reasons Shaw remains in his college football castle at Stanford.
这种拒绝是肖留在斯坦福大学橄榄球城堡的原因之一。
Shaw is often brought up as a candidate to make the leap from college to the NFL.
肖经常被视为从大学跳槽到 NFL 的候选人。
He doesn’t see why he should.
他不明白为什么他应该这么做。
He remembers being bounced from the NFL in 2005 when he was a Ravens assistant, and doesn’t wish to revisit that experience.
他记得 2005 年被 NFL 开除，当时他还是乌鸦队的助理教练，他不想再回顾那段经历。
“If you coach longer than three years, then you know rejection,” Shaw tells me.
“如果你执教时间超过三年，那么你就会遭到拒绝，”肖告诉我。
“I’ll say it nicely.
“我会好好说的。
When I left Baltimore or was asked to leave the Baltimore Ravens, I interviewed for multiple jobs and tried to get multiple jobs and struck out multiple times.
当我离开巴尔的摩或被要求离开巴尔的摩乌鸦队时，我面试了多份工作，并试图获得多份工作，但多次被淘汰。
And multiple times I thought I had the job.
很多次我以为我得到了这份工作。
I thought I was the perfect person for the job and crushed the interview, and someone else got the job.” Those denied opportunities eventually brought Shaw to his alma mater, but he never forgot those feelings of disappointment.
我认为我是这份工作的最佳人选，所以面试失败了，结果其他人得到了这份工作。”那些被剥夺的机会最终让肖回到了母校，但他永远不会忘记那些失望的感觉。
“If people have closed minds, hey, it’s up to us to try to open those minds the best way we can and continue to have great examples of people that don’t look like the cardboard cutout football coach,” Shaw says.
“如果人们思想封闭，嘿，我们就应该以最好的方式尝试打开他们的思想，并继续提供那些看起来不像纸板剪纸足球教练的优秀榜样，”肖说。
Buccaneers special teams coordinator Keith Armstrong Photo by Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images The challenge for these coaches is compounded when they can’t break in immediately.
海盗队特别队协调员基思·阿姆斯特朗 (Keith Armstrong) 摄影：Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images 当这些教练无法立即介入时，他们面临的挑战就变得更加复杂。
Keith Armstrong has been coaching special teams for 27 years and is currently the Buccaneers’ coordinator.
基思·阿姆斯特朗 (Keith Armstrong) 执教特种部队已有 27 年，目前担任海盗队的协调员。
For years he gave up his summers to participate in the Minority Coaching Fellowship, a diversity workshop the league recommends for upstart play-callers.
多年来，他放弃了暑假参加少数族裔教练奖学金，这是联盟为新贵球员推荐的多元化研讨会。
“I never went on vacation for four years,” he says.
“我已经四年没有去度假了，”他说。
“Sometimes, you gotta give that up.” But what if he hadn’t been a young 20-something without a relationship or kids?
“有时候，你必须放弃。”但如果他不是一个 20 多岁、没有恋爱关系、没有孩子的年轻人呢？
He may have never made it in pro football.
他可能从未在职业足球界取得过成功。
“You gotta be willing to grind,” he says.
“你必须愿意努力，”他说。
“And a lot of guys have.
“很多人都有过这样的经历。
But you have to have a lot of luck.
但你必须有很大的运气。
I been lucky as hell.
我真是太幸运了。
I got horseshoes.
我有马蹄铁。
I can’t say that for the rest of ’em.” Armstrong admits a lot of his fortune came from other coaches’ social capital.
我不能对其他人这么说。”阿姆斯特朗承认他的大部分财富来自其他教练的社会资本。
Jimmy Johnson made calls on his behalf in the ’90s.
吉米·约翰逊 (Jimmy Johnson) 在 90 年代曾代表他打过电话。
Arians has done the same.
阿利乌斯也做了同样的事。
“A lot of this stuff is who you know, who you gather with.
“很多东西都是你认识的人，和你一起聚会的人。
Everybody travels in families and packs, and you gotta get caught up in one of those families,” Armstrong says.
每个人都以家庭和背包的方式旅行，而你必须融入其中的一个家庭中，”阿姆斯特朗说。
But he knows his tenure in the league is nowhere near the norm.
但他知道他在联盟的任期远非正常。
“It can be frustrating.
“这可能会令人沮丧。
There’s no doubt about it.
毫无疑问。
It’s just like the real world,” he says.
这就像现实世界一样，”他说。
“You gotta keep gettin’ up.
“你必须继续站起来。
That’s the thing here.
这就是这里的事情。
Because you’re gonna get knocked down.
因为你会被击倒。
Keep gettin’ up.”
继续站起来。”
Even with all the anecdotal evidence and quantitative conclusions about the state of coaches of color in professional football, these results don’t sit the same with everyone.
尽管有关于职业足球中有色人种教练状况的所有轶事证据和定量结论，但这些结果并不适合每个人。
Black people are not a monolith.
黑人并不是铁板一块。
Every black coach is not forced to find fault with the state of their profession.
每个黑人教练都不会被迫对自己的职业状况挑剔。
Dolphins head coach Brian Flores told me last week that hard work would prevail.
海豚队主教练布莱恩·弗洛雷斯上周告诉我，努力工作会占上风。
“I just, I just,” Flores sighed.
“我只是，我只是，”弗洛雷斯叹了口气。
“Speaking truthfully, honestly, I feel like guys who work hard and do a good job are productive.
“说实话，老实说，我觉得那些努力工作并做好工作的人是富有成效的。
They can lead, they’ll get their opportunities.
他们可以领导，他们会得到机会。
Maybe that’s a pipe dream of mine.”
也许这只是我的一个白日梦。”
During his introductory press conference in February, Flores said he wanted to be an example for coaches of color to help them get the same opportunities.
在二月份的介绍性新闻发布会上，弗洛雷斯表示，他希望成为有色人种教练的榜样，帮助他们获得同样的机会。
He takes it seriously, he said.
他说，他认真对待这件事。
He’s seen the richness of talent in the game.
他看到了比赛中丰富的人才。
He was brought up for years as a coach who was next in line.
多年来，他一直是作为下一任教练长大的。
Now, he’s reached the top.
现在，他已经达到了顶峰。
And he wants to see something change.
他希望看到一些改变。
“This isn’t an offense or a defense or special teams job.
“这不是进攻、防守或特种部队的工作。
This is a leadership job,” he says.
这是一项领导工作，”他说。
He wants those with hiring power to work harder.
他希望那些有招聘能力的人更加努力地工作。
“People need to, I don’t want to say broaden their horizons, but take a good, hard look, investigate a little bit more, take the time to listen to players and listen to other coaches.
“我不想说，人们需要拓宽他们的视野，但要认真仔细地观察，多做一些调查，花时间倾听球员和其他教练的意见。
There’s a lot of really good coaches in this league.
这个联盟有很多非常优秀的教练。
You gotta do more investigation.
你得做更多调查。
Dig deeper.
深入挖掘。
Turn over every stone.
把每块石头都翻过来。
If you look hard enough, you’ll find them.”
如果你足够努力，你就会找到它们。”
Dolphins head coach Brian Flores Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images
海豚队主教练布莱恩·弗洛雷斯 摄影：Michael Reaves/Getty Images
No one person can be a shining light to influence those who are unwilling to see that black coaches are capable of the same things that their white counterparts are.
没有人能够成为一盏明灯来影响那些不愿意看到黑人教练也能做到与白人教练同样的事情的人。
If the trailblazer Tony Dungy, the first black coach to win a Super Bowl, could not convince them, or Mike Tomlin, with the third-longest tenure among active coaches, or Jim Caldwell, Dennis Green, Fritz Pollard—if they could not change the minds of football’s power brokers, then who can?
如果第一位赢得超级碗的黑人教练托尼·邓吉（Tony Dungy）无法说服他们，或者现任教练中任期第三长的迈克·汤姆林（Mike Tomlin），或者吉姆·考德威尔（Jim Caldwell）、丹尼斯·格林（Dennis Green）、弗里茨·波拉德（Fritz Pollard）——如果他们不能改变足球权力掮客的想法，那么谁能改变呢？
The NFL is not unlike many American workplaces.
NFL 与许多美国工作场所并没有什么不同。
The culture of many of this country’s elite institutions, football included, is built on race-based exclusion.
这个国家许多精英机构的文化，包括足球，都是建立在基于种族的排斥之上的。
It is not the job of any black coach to attempt to fix the structures in their workplaces.
试图修复工作场所的结构不是任何黑人教练的工作。
It is a deeply unfair expectation for a group of people who’ve been refused a seat at the table since the legs were screwed on and the silverware set.
对于一群自从桌腿被拧上、银器被固定后就被拒绝坐在餐桌旁的人来说，这是一个非常不公平的期望。
It is not a question of whether black and brown coaches can succeed at the highest levels of the game—it’s a matter of when we will let them.
这不是黑人和棕色人种教练能否在最高水平的比赛中取得成功的问题，而是我们何时让他们取得成功的问题。
Many consider Leftwich to be the next man who will reach glory.
许多人认为莱夫维奇是下一个获得荣耀的人。
“I’ve been around some really good African American coaches on both sides of the ball.
“我在攻防两端都遇到过一些非常优秀的非裔美国教练。
Like really, really, really, really good coaches,” Leftwich tells me.
就像非常、非常、非常、非常好的教练一样，”莱夫维奇告诉我。
He’s a product of what this collective of coaches has always wanted: representation, yes, but also advancement based on merit.
他是这群教练一直想要的产物：是的，有代表性，但也有基于绩效的晋升。
“We are in the teaching business,” he says.
“我们从事教学业务，”他说。
“And the teaching business can no longer be about color.”
“教学工作不能再与颜色有关。”
Getting the job in the first place is only one step.
首先获得工作只是第一步。
“When it takes this long to get one, and if you do get an opportunity and you’re not ready, you’re done.
“当你需要这么长时间才能得到一个机会时，如果你确实得到了一个机会，但你还没有准备好，那么你就完了。
You never get another chance again,” Lynn says.
你再也没有机会了，”林恩说。
“That’s just the way it is.
“就是这样。”
I can’t say that’s the same for everybody, but it’s damn sure the same for us.”
我不能说这对每个人来说都是一样的，但对我们来说肯定是一样的。”
“I hope that the data is wrong,” he reveals.
“我希望数据是错误的，”他透露道。
“I still look forward to the day that every man gets his equal opportunity.”
“我仍然期待着有一天每个人都能获得平等的机会。”
An earlier version of this piece incorrectly stated that Lynn interviewed for the Bills job.
本文的早期版本错误地指出林恩面试了比尔的工作。