Despite a decade of lawsuits and scandals, the NFL is bigger than ever. I enjoy football as much as anyone. While basketball and soccer have gone global, and baseball fades to second-tier status, football stands alone as the quintessential American sport. The latest NFL imbroglio is the lawsuit by Brian Flores. Flores claims he has been passed over for head coaching opportunities because he is Black. The former Miami Dolphin coach believes he has proof that the NY Giants had already decided to hire another coach before Flores was even interviewed, and that his pending interview was a sham. In a league that is 75% Black or people of color, the NFL has one Black head coach, Mike Tomlin of the Steelers, and one Latino head coach, Ron Rivera of the Washington Commanders. Do I think the Flores lawsuit is going to push fans away from the NFL? No chance, but it brings to light some good questions. Are NFL owners so racist that they would pass on a Black coach who they honestly think will help them win? Does the lack of diversity in the NFL have any applications to corporate America in general?
Last week, I was openly critical on Twitter of a well-known publication that published a list of the most powerful people in residential real estate. I was critical because the list was made up of 95% White people, and I believe it omitted a number of people who should be included. The author of the list responded by saying he was only a messenger, and the problem was not with him but rather the lack of diversity in the c-suites of America’s largest real estate enterprises. While I don’t agree with him entirely, he was not completely wrong.
So, do I think the NFL is racist enough to pass on qualified head coaches? The answer is complex. No, I don’t think NFL owners would avoid hiring someone they thought would help their team win more games simply because they are Black, but I do believe there are implicit biases that would make it more unlikely for a White owner to hire a non-White coach. Jon Gruden is proof of that. In the business world, we talk a lot about company culture. We are taught that our hiring decisions shouldn’t be only based on talent, we should hire people who are a good fit for our company culture and who share our values. I believe that NFL owners don’t only set out to hire the most talented people, they hire people who they believe are a good fit for their organization. Is this racism? I don’t believe it is the “White supremacy” kind of racism that most people think of when they think about racism, but the outcome is pretty much the same.
I think the Flores lawsuit is important because I believe it does have applications in the business world. Some might say that Mike Tomin of the Steelers is proof the NFL does not have an implicit racism problem. That sort of thinking always makes me roll my eyes. Yes, there are exceptions, but I don’t want to see a few Black people and Latinos in leadership roles, I want the barriers, whether they are explicit or implicit, to be minimized as much as possible so that everyone has a fair chance to succeed. All this being said, I am still a football fan. Go Rams!
There are qualities in our community that no data point can fully capture, but this episode is about one of the biggest: grit. I talk about why perseverance, resilience, family, and purpose have always been among the greatest strengths of Hispanics and Latinos, and why those strengths can be a powerful advantage in a world being reshaped by technology, wealth, and access. But grit alone is not enough. If we want to translate all of that talent and determination into lasting economic and political power, we also need stronger networks, better platforms, and more intentional leadership. The opportunity is real. The question is whether we are ready to organize around it.
For years, we’ve been told that mass deportations would mean more jobs and higher wages for U.S.-born workers. But this episode looks at why the opposite may actually be happening. I break down new research showing how immigrant and U.S.-born workers often play complementary roles in the labor market, why removing one group can hurt the other, and how these policies may be making labor shortages, housing challenges, and economic instability even worse. This is a conversation about jobs, economics, and the unintended consequences too many people still refuse to confront.
Something important is shifting, and this episode is about why it matters. For a young and fast-growing community like ours, the rise of AI may be opening doors that were previously harder to reach — not by eliminating every barrier, but by expanding access to knowledge, tools, and opportunity at a scale we’ve never seen before. But access alone won’t determine who wins. This moment calls for strategy, community, and a serious commitment to turning potential into power. The opening is real. What happens next depends on what we do with it.