‘SNL’ Calls Out NFL for Only Interviewing Black Candidates ‘For Show’

Saturday Night Live comic Colin Jost thinks the National Football League should take a page out of President Biden’s playbook when it comes to hiring Black candidates.

During the Feb. 26 “Weekend Update” segment, Jost and co-anchor Michael Che recapped Friday’s announcement from Biden that he nominated Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to sit on the U.S. Supreme Court.

“Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, seen here getting tired of y’all’s foolishness!” Che said to laughter, “was nominated by President Biden to become the first Black woman on the Supreme Court.”

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Biden selected Jackson after giving “considerable weight” to other Black candidates, including Judge J. Michelle Childs and California Supreme Court Justice Leondra Kruger, CNN reported.

With that in mind, Jost took a jab at NFL hiring practices. The comedian quipped, “Biden chose Jackson after interviewing three finalists this week. Weird, I thought interviewing Black candidates was just for show,’ said the NFL.”

The league is currently being sued by former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores for racial discrimination. Flores was fired in January after three seasons. According to The Atlantic, Miami was “coming off back-to-back winning seasons” when Flores got sacked.

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Flores, who is Black, filed suit on Feb. 1 saying he faced racial discrimination by three teams — the Dolphins, plus the New York Giants and the Denver Broncos, two teams he said gave him “sham” interviews for head coach positions.

The suit alleges “the NFL remains rife with racism, particularly when it comes to the hiring and retention of Black Head Coaches, Coordinators and General Managers.”

Earlier this month, the New York Times reported the NFL has a “race problem.” The paper noted, “Most of its players are Black. Only one head coach is.”