Several days ago, PewterReport.com released a statement on Twitter following the brutal death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. We stated that our company stood for an end to racism, and being for equal rights and equal justice, as well as the right to non-violently protest, and offered our prayers to Floyd’s family, friends and those affected by this tragedy.

I wanted to make sure all of our PewterReport.com readers know where our company stands on this issue, so I’m re-posting our Tweet and adding to our statement. Racism is abhorrent, and has no place in our society.

PewterReport.com condemns racism – along with police brutality and the unnecessary use of force, in addition to condemning the unlawful rioting and looting that has distracted from the peaceful protests that are meant to inspire and enact positive and meaningful change. PewterReport.com supports the law-abiding police officers that serve and protect the Tampa Bay community and elsewhere across this country.

As a white man, I have spent the days and weeks following Floyd’s death having conversations with people of color – but mostly listening and learning, and hearing their stories of injustice and the way their lives have been negatively affected through systemic forms of racism in our country. I cannot fully comprehend the negative effects of these events and why these injustices have occurred. But I can speak out, and empathize, and stand with the African-American community, the minority community as a whole, and those affected to help promote change in our country.

I’m sure I will hear the calls to “stick to sports” from some, but please understand that racial injustice has been intertwined with sports – especially in a sport like football whose rosters are 70 percent African-American. There will be plenty of X’s and O’s and pure football coverage as Tampa Bay’s 2020 season rapidly approaches, but PewterReport.com can help promote change by using our platform to publicize the positive social justice initiatives of the Buccaneers and their players to the masses, and to highlight the organization’s role as a trailblazer for equality and change in its hiring practices.

Former Bucs head coach Tony Dungy – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Since my career reporting on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers began in 1995, I have taken great pride in covering an organization that became the first – and currently the only – NFL team to hire three African-American head coaches, beginning with Tony Dungy in 1996. Dungy was the fourth African-American head coaching hire in NFL history, following Art Shell (Raiders, 1989), Dennis Green (Vikings 1992) and Ray Rhodes (1995).

Raheem Morris was hired in 2009, followed by Lovie Smith in 2014. Both Morris and Smith were previous Bucs assistant coaches, and there have been other African-American Tampa Bay assistant coaches that I was proud to cover that went on to become NFL head coaches in Herman Edwards (Jets), Mike Tomlin (Steelers) and Jim Caldwell (Colts). Former Bucs defensive backs coach Jimmy Lake, who is a good friend of mine, is the new head coach at the University of Washington.

The fact that the NFL has just four minority head coaches – Tomlin, Anthony Lynn (Chargers), Brian Flores (Miami) and Ron Rivera (Redskins) – out of 32 teams is disturbing in 2020. It’s disappointing, especially for a league whose rosters are comprised of 70 percent African-Americans.

The highest number of minority coaches the league has had at one time was eight – in 2011, 2017 and also in 2018. The NFL is looking into ways to rectify the situation and promote a culture change within a league whose teams does not have one majority owner that is a person of color.

The Rooney Rule was created in 2002 to address the firing of Dungy, who was coming off a winning season, and the firing of Green, who was coming off his first losing season in Minnesota in 10 years. The Rooney Rule hasn’t worked as intended – outside of the Buccaneers, whose current head coach, Bruce Arians, is the first and only NFL head coach to employ African-Americans at every coordinator position.

Upon his hiring in January of 2019, Arians tabbed Todd Bowles as the team’s defensive coordinator, named Byron Leftwich as the Bucs’ passing game coordinator and play-caller, as well as Harold Goodwin as Tampa Bay’s run game coordinator. Keith Armstrong was hired as Arians’ special teams coordinator. No NFL team has employed four African-American coordinators at the same time before, and I’m incredibly proud of the Buccaneers for their continued actions of promoting minority hires.

Bucs head coach Bruce Arians and OC Byron Leftwich – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

I believe that once the 67-year old Arians retires in the coming years that one of those fine, well-qualified men will succeed him. Should that happen, that would make the Buccaneers the first and only franchise to hire four African-American head coaches. The Glazer family has led the NFL’s model franchise when it comes to diversity, and I’m proud to be a part of the local media promoting their positive actions, highlighting this in a 2018 SR’s Fab 5 column.

Given the protests that have taken place around the country in the wake of the unjustified killing of Floyd, an African-American in Minneapolis, expect change to happen within the league in the coming days, weeks, months and years. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has addressed the issue and signaled his support and the league’s support for the African-American community in a video he released a few days ago.

As we declared in our original statement, PewterReport.com stands for an inclusive American where there is equality, liberty and justice for ALL.