"Outstanding new book" investigates the Rooney Rule

There's no question the Rooney Rule has changed the NFL's culture. It aims to increase diversity in the management ranks of a league in which the overwhelming majority of players are black. Reaching this point was a long, difficult road, explains N. Jeremi Duru, a professor at Temple's Beasley School of Law. His book, Advancing the Ball: Race, Reformation and the Quest for Equal Coaching Opportunity in the NFL, details the history of the process that resulted in the Rooney Rule. Several recent instances revealed the Rooney Rule's underlying flaw: the potential for sham interviews. "It is a process-oriented rule," Duru said. "But of course, we can't get into the states of mind of the various decision-makers."
Feb. 19, 2011 | Washington Post