It's Asian American and Pacific Islander Month and The NFL Still Has Some Work To Do.

Since the 2020 season, I have wondered why kicker Jonathan Song was a free agent still. Why he went undrafted and was never given a chance to compete for a spot. He's got a better leg then most kickers. Then I saw who his agent was and I thought, maybe he was being blackballed out of the league due to his agent. It was speculation but what if there was something darker under foot.

Nicole Yang of the Boston Globe wrote an article about former Patriots offensive lineman Eugene Chung on May 21, 2021. And in the article Chung makes some very damning statements about an NFL team.

Chung says at one point during his interview, the team executive cut him off and made a very disturbing comment.

Chung says he was told, “It was said to me, ‘Well, you’re really not a minority,’ ” 

Nancy points out in her article that Chung is Korean. 

Chung continued, "“I was like, ‘Wait a minute. The last time I checked, when I looked in the mirror and brushed my teeth, I was a minority'. So I was like, ‘What do you mean I’m not a minority?’ ”

Chung then says he was told, "You are not the right minority we’re looking for.”

Chung continues, “That’s when I realized what the narrative was,” Chung said. “I was blown away, emotionally paralyzed for a split second. I asked myself, ‘Did I hear that correctly?’ 

I asked about it, and as soon as the backtracking started, I was like, ‘Oh no, no, no, no, no, you said it. Now that it’s out there, let’s talk about it,’ ” he said. “It was absolutely mind-blowing to me that in 2021, something like that is actually a narrative.”

It's not like Chung isn't qualified and the league has made a big deal about getting minorities into head coach positions.

Nicole Yang wrote, "The NFL has attempted to address its lack of diversity, instituting — and updating — the Rooney Rule to mandate that organizations interview at least two minority candidates for head coaching and coordinator openings. The owners also passed a resolution in November that rewards teams for developing minority coaching talent with draft compensation."

If my memory serves teams are rewarded with third round picks. There was some talk that it could lead to qualified candidates not being given jobs with this rule but Asians were not the ones who were thought to be denied employment due to ethnicity with the Rooney rule.

In her article, Nancy shared a quote from Roger Goodell, where he says, "It’s continually keeping a focus on this, adapting, looking to see what areas we can improve on, and that constant evolution of improvement, to try to make sure we’re doing everything appropriate to give minorities an opportunity to advance in the head coaching ranks or the coaching ranks in general."

Chung says, “For me, in this profession, I don’t think I’m looked at as a minority. Whether that’s good or bad, I don’t know.”

Chung continues on about the struggles he's faced being Korean American. Chung talked about the difficulties he faced both growing up and during his career in the nfl. Saying that he has dealt with racism throughout his life.

In thinking about inequality in his growing up and in his professional career Chung says, “In retrospect, it’s the same thing. It might be on two different levels, but it’s the same thing. It’s just like, ‘Oh, let’s just push it under the rug because it’s these people and it’ll eventually just go away.’ ”

Chung has children that he's trying to help as they face their own issues in society. He acknowledges he tries to keep them in a positive mindset.

As for the NFL, Chung says, “I’m not sitting here bashing the league at all, because there are great mentors and there are great coaches that embrace the difference. It’s just when the Asians don’t fit the narrative, that’s where my stomach churns a little bit.”

Chung is advocating for Asian Americans, especially those in the NFL. American has had a long history of mistreatment of asian citizens. The current global pandemic has brought it to light more than ever. 

Chung says, “I think that’s what can be done, is to put that information out there and let people know. If people don’t know about the temperature of what’s going on out there, they’ll never know.”

Hopefully the NFL looks into this. If people are being passed over because of ethnicity, regardless if it's a coaching or roster spot, the league must issue punishment. There is more than one minority group in the United States and the NFL has benefited and capitalized from all of them, including such stars as Hines Ward, Teddy Bruschi, Troy Polamalu, and Eugene Chung himself .