While I may not agree with his philosophy in the long run, I believe that the New England Patriots made a terrific decision when they brought in Jerod Mayo to be the new head coach. While I may have had similar concerns with Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell regarding his inexperience when he was first hired, he turned out to be a terrific coach for the same qualities that Mayo possesses. While Campbell started his tenure off with a bizarre press conference about being a “knee-biter”, Mayo simply stated how honored he was to be the first African-American head coach in the history of the New England Patriots. Surprisingly, the latter was the interview most heavily scrutinized.
Patriots Head Coach Jerod Mayo Receives Racist Attacks for Being “Woke”
Let’s start with the fact that being “woke” is one of the most bizarre insults in history as it simply attacks someone for being culturally and ethnically accepting. Surprisingly, right wing commentators and fans throw it around like its candy. While I always struggle with bringing in a younger coach who doesn’t have prior experience as an offensive or defensive coordinator, that is my only real issue with Mayo who otherwise seems remarkably qualified to lead the way for New England.
To start with, Mayo was a high profile prospect out of the university of Tennessee when he was selected 10th overall by New England in 2008. While spending his entire seven-year career in New England, Mayo was an incredibly respected inside linebacker who was named to the pro bowl twice and won a Super Bowl with the team. After that, Mayo showed off that he was clearly an intelligent young man by working in the financial services sector for three years before joining the coaching staff with his former team in 2019 as the inside linebackers coach.
During his tenure, Mayo was so well respected that his appointment as head coach following former Head Coach Bill Belichick’s departure was actually written into Belichicks contract. Therefore, Mayo took over immediately following the departure of the elite coach and basically said in his first press conference that he takes a lot of pride in being the first African American head coach and that he doesn’t want to pretend that racism isn’t a major problem in the NFL. Sadly, when a young man in this league makes a statement like that, you get a lot of unwarranted criticism from fans like the one below.
Jerod Mayo is a racist and I will be actively rooting against him as a head coach. pic.twitter.com/dU90g5b3Yw
— Nick Adams (Alpha Male) (@NickAdamsinUSA) January 18, 2024
What is hard to believe is how fans are so naïve to the reality that it is actually hard to work through the ranks for young African American men in the NFL. To New England’s benefit, there is such a problem that the team will actually reap the reward from the Rooney rule for hiring Mayo due to his race.
After promoting a minority coach, the team will actually received draft compensation that will help this team build up a talent base in the long run. While it is horrible that this is what it requires to get qualified coaches hired in the NFL, it can actually be utilized as a huge advantage for Mayo particularly if he chooses to develop minority coaches to be hired by other teams.
It is no secret that there are a large amount of right wing fans who follow the NFL who are vocal in their opposition of the “woke” agenda but in this moment, I applaud both the New England Patriots and Jerod Mayo for speaking words to a problem. While a lot of people aren’t willing to acknowledge it as it makes them feel guilty toward their favorite sports organization, Mayo was absolute correct when he said that pretending it doesn’t exist is simply condoning the behavior to begin with.
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