How is the low proportion of black quarterbacks a bigger problem than the ultra-low proportion of white non-quarterbacks?
It would be if there was any other indication of discrimination against whites than the numbers. In the case of coaches and quarterbacks there was.
When I wrote that I wasn't aware of any evidence showing discriminatory hiring practices affecting white players, but I have since found an allegation of one incident[1].
Given that, I'm changing my position[2]: Yes, the NFL should act on this. I'm not sure what an appropriate course of action is (given that quotas don't work well), though.
> It would be if there was any other indication of discrimination against whites than the numbers.
I agree with you that I don't think the NFL is discriminating against white players. They just want the best, period.
What I have issues with is when a company's racial makeup shakes out to be majority white (funny how that can happen when you draw from a pool that's majority white) and the first instinct is to say "this _must_ be because of bias."
a) White males are better at software engineering and that's why the majority of software engineers are white males (there is no scientific evidence to support this whatsoever).
b) There are socio-economic factors that lead more white males into software engineering than anyone else (there is ample scientific evidence to support this theory).
Clearly there is a bias at work somewhere. It's not necessarily a hiring problem, but rather one that starts further up the "supply chain" (if you will). We're trying to fix that.
(1) Not enough black quarterbacks
(2) Not enough black coaches
and those are issues that need to be addressed?
How is the low proportion of black quarterbacks a bigger problem than the ultra-low proportion of white non-quarterbacks?