New England coach Jerod Mayo did something, well, brave during his first press conference as Patriots head coach. He talked about race.
The most interesting part of his meeting with the media on Wednesday was when the conversation veered into race, specifically, when Mayo was asked about being the first Black head coach in Patriots history. Owner Robert Kraft was asked about that.
‘I’m really colorblind, in terms of, I know what I feel like on Sunday when we lose,’ Kraft said. He added that he hired Mayo because the coach was the best person for the job and it’s simply coincidental that Mayo is Black. ‘He happens to be a man of color,’ Kraft said, ‘but I chose him because I believe he’s best to do the job.’
That is the standard answer good people give to the complicated issue of race. I don’t see color. I see performance. That is an intensely naive view but it’s a view many people possess.
Mayo wasn’t having any of it. And here comes the brave part. Mayo politely, but firmly, contradicted the man who just hired him, and someone who is one of the most powerful people in all of sports. It was a remarkable moment.
‘I do see color,’ Mayo said. ‘Because I believe if you don’t see color, you can’t see racism.’
Bingo.
He didn’t stop there. Mayo was asked about the historic significance of his hiring.
‘You better believe it,’ he said. ‘Being the first Black coach here in New England means a lot to me.’ He added: ‘…You have to take ideas from other people: Black, white, green, yellow…it really doesn’t matter. Old, young. One thing you’ll notice about me, in our interaction as we continue to go, is, I don’t like echo chambers. I want people around me that are going to question my ideas, or question the way we have done things in the past…’
It’s difficult to put into words how big a deal this was for Mayo to say. No one knows how good a coach he’ll be, but Mayo speaking honestly about race, during his introductory presser, in New England of all places, is a remarkable moment.
To understand why it’s a big deal look no further than some of the comments under the Patriots’ social media account on X, formerly Twitter. Lots and lots and lots of racist responses, to be sure, but also people saying Mayo shouldn’t talk about race.
And that’s why what Mayo did is so important and, yes, brave. It may seem like a simple thing to say that seeing race is important, because in order to solve this country’s dire racial issues, you have to first identify them. Duh.
But one of the great paradoxes of race in America is how tens of millions of people ignore it. They think that by not talking about it, or criticizing people who do, somehow it will just go away. It doesn’t. Racism is poison and the only way to combat it is fight it head on. Discuss it. Acknowledge it.
Just as Mayo did.
It’s obviously too early to know what kind of coach Mayo will be. In the end, what will matter most is how much he wins. Winning Super Bowls was the standard in New England with Bill Belichick. If Mayo wins, he’ll be remembered for that. If he loses, he’ll be remembered for that.
It’s also true that in the NFL the fall is steeper for Black head coaches. The criticism harsher. The standards different. This is the case for many Black Americans across many professions. It could be for Mayo as well.
But for now, for right now, Mayo isn’t putting his views about race or, in essence, his Blackness, aside for the job. He’s telling the truth about race and showing guts that many, many people don’t have.
In that way, he’s already winning.