The number of minorities rising to the top of college sports and business sports, such as the National Football League (NFL), has been curtailed because of a lack of adversity and hidden racism in positions power and management in these football leagues. Specifically, the African-Americans are the most affected lot when it comes to the problems that result from the hidden racism in college football and the NFL. Even though the number of African-Americans in the NFL has increased significantly to sixty-seven percent, most of them are in the labor force but not in the management positions. The elimination of racial barriers has, therefore, not been effective, and the minority groups are constantly discriminated against by those with consolidated management power in college football and the NFL ( Regan & Feagin, 2017) .
In his book, “Black and White: Race and Sports in America,” Kenneth L. Shropshire strives to address the absence of minorities in positions of power in sports. Shropshire, Davis, & Duru (2016) argue that sports have considerably failed to enhance racial integration in the NFL. The perception that sports rewards people based on their performance, and there exists nothing to hold one back if they are the best is mistakenly untrue. The minority groups are only rewarded in the field but not in the top-level positions in the top management in the sports industry. The majority group in the management positions claims the minority groups do not have the management experience needed in the sports industry ( Regan & Feagin, 2017) . Such unfounded claims are used as excuses to cover the lack of diversity and hidden racism in the sports industry. The minority groups have been involved in the sports industry for decades. There are a lot of competent individuals among the minority groups who have had long-term experience in football. However, such minority individuals are denied the opportunity to hold positions, such as team presidents or general managers. Such higher-level positions are usually a reserve for the majority groups.
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The hidden racism in sports management is prevalent in the industry because the appointment and hiring in such top-level positions are dependent on relationships. Though most minorities have the required merit needed to get hired to such top posts, they usually do not have long-term relationships with the sportspeople. The number of coaches in college sports from the minority group is also minimal. Statistics show that the percentage of minorities in top-level management in sports is about five percent. The percentage figure comprises all the minority groups, including Latino, African-Americans, and Asians. 5% is too low because people from the minority group represent 65% of the NFL ( Shropshire, Davis, & Duru, 2016) . The unfair representation of the minority groups in the positions of power in sports management explains why most players from minority groups are discriminated against when formulation discipline measures.
Most athletes from minority groups in college football and the NFL fear to take a personal interest in addressing the topic of hidden racism in sports management. These athletes are always in constant fear of losing their jobs if they decide to make critical comments on the prevalent racism promoted by the majority groups holding the top-level management positions ( Regan & Feagin, 2017) . One of the NFL players who at one time openly showed rebellion against the discrimination of the black people and the people of color is Kaepernick. However, after his silent protests, Kaepernick was blacklisted from the NFL. The NFL even went further and developed a rule that prohibited rebellions from the league players. Such rulings show how the people of black and those of color suffer from the decisions passed by the top management of their teams in which they are under-represented. The owners and the management of the league are often fearful when they express views and concerns that do not resonate with their playbook.
The perpetuation of the hidden racism among the minorities and the people of color have taken a dramatic form. The top management of the college football leagues and the NFL has resorted to using manipulative mechanism and forcing the famous players to use their faces and bodies for marketing various products and services that make money for their teams. These products and services range from footwear, designer clothes, or support courses, such as breast cancer prevention. Most of the players are not at liberty to decline their support for such products lest they face disciplinary measures and possible expulsion from their teams. The actions taken by the executive board members at the NFL are clearly and loudly states that there are players who have no liberty to conduct unsponsored social justice causes. Lack of diversity and racial integration of the minority groups in the top-level management in the sports industry is the sole reason why they are being subjected to hidden racism. In the NFL, there are only eight black head coaches.
Great ball players belonging from the minority groups could be instrumental in addressing the inherent lack of diversity in the top ranks of sports management. When appointed as a high-profile free agent, such great ballplayers should make a prerequisite condition for the teams signing them to have a considerable number of minorities in the management positions. However, this is not the case because most of these high-profile free agents are individualistic and are concerned more with how much money they can make for themselves ( Shropshire, Davis, & Duru, 2016) . The great ball players are less concerned with the broader issue of hidden racism in NFL and college football that is exacerbated by the lack of a good record of minorities in the management positions.
The lack of diversity in top-level management representation can be enhanced by developing aggressive affirmative action programs that will force the under-represented minorities into networks. Such established networks will break the barriers of networks and ensure that those selecting caches and management executives have a broader base of individuals from minority groups to choose from ( Regan & Feagin, 2017) . Other programs should involve the establishment of quotas and schedules that will ensure that team managers at the NFL and college football are forced to a better number of minority representations in their management ranks. The implementation of the Rooney Rule in college football and the NFL could help curb/ reduce the underrepresentation of minorities in sports management positions. The rule mandates the inclusion of people from minority groups on shortlists for senior management positions in sports boardrooms ( Shropshire, Davis, & Duru, 2016) . Racism is perpetuated in the top management because people holding the position of power do not have an informed perspective, and they are not open-minded. Those at the helm of power in sports management formed a fabricated idea and personal knowledge of what defines a qualified individual. People at the top management in many college football teams and the NFL, therefore, only choose people that look like them and share their ideologies for replacements in such positions.
Some team/club owners are also partly blamable for the hidden racism that operates at the executive level of college football and the NFL. Club owners propagate the institutional racism and deliberate discrimination of black and minority ethnic (BME). They assume that the BME is not capable of handling the management mantle without analyzing and challenging their capacities to control such positions of power.
References
Regan, M., & Feagin, J. (2017). College sports leadership: systemic racial employment barriers. In Sport and discrimination (pp. 27-43). Routledge.
Shropshire, K. L., Davis, T., & Duru, N. J. (2016). The business of sports agents . University of Pennsylvania Press.
