Former NFL player and assistant coach Eugene Chung said in May that he was told while interviewing for a job with an NFL team that he is “not the right minority.” Since then, the NFL has looked into the matter, but Chung, who has not revealed who said that, is not satisfied with the league’s efforts.
Chung, who is Asian-American, says he didn’t think highly of the NFL’s statement claiming that the league would “speak with him about how we can better advance employment opportunities throughout the League.” Chung thinks the NFL tried to make it look like it was working more closely with him than it really was.
“I’ve had one conversation with them. I’d love to work with them hand in hand but, when it’s being written that I’m going to be working with them, and I had only one very brief conversation, I think that’s a little misleading,” Chung told Tim McManus of ESPN.
Chung also said he will not divulge who made the inappropriate comment to him.
“I’m not interested in outing anybody. I think that’s insignificant and irrelevant to what’s going on at hand right now,” Chung said.
It’s easy to see why Chung may think that if he names names, he’ll be viewed as a troublemaker and it will only further hamper his attempts to get an NFL job. In fairness to the NFL, however, it’s hard for the league to conduct a thorough investigation of Chung’s allegation if Chung won’t tell them who his allegation is about.
Chung was a first-round pick of the Patriots in the 1992 NFL draft and also played for the Jaguars and Colts. His coaching career has included stints on the staffs of the Eagles and Chiefs. He is currently not employed in the NFL.
UPDATE 12:46 p.m. ET: The NFL issued the following response: “We embrace the opportunity to work with Eugene to hear his ideas on how we can better advance employment opportunities throughout the League, both for Asian-Americans and for all underrepresented groups. As we have made him aware, we welcome meeting with him, and have at no time, turned down requests to discuss these important issues with our staff, including the Commissioner. Asians/Pacific Islanders are a minority under our diversity policy.”