To the Editor:
Eboo Patel’s opinion piece “Philanthropy Could Learn a Lot About Diversity by Studying What Sports Teams Are Doing Right” (July 12, 2023) is misguided. I’ve worked in sports philanthropy for more than two decades and believe the sports industry still has a long way to go when it comes to representation. Focusing primarily on the diversity of the college student-athlete population misses context that’s crucial for philanthropy’s leaders.
Black athletes are prevalent in sports because systemic inequities have historically closed off many other fields. In fact, sports itself is a microcosm of society’s larger biases, even while the courts and fields themselves may be diverse. Case in point: Women’s sports, including women’s college basketball, receive only about 5 percent of all sports media coverage even though women make up 40 percent of all athletes.
Consider also that the number of people of color who were head coaches at the highest level of college football decreased in 2022, while white men overwhelmingly hold key leadership positions across college and professional sports.
Finally, Patel’s statement that standards in sports are “consistent across the board. The basket is 10 feet high, and the football field 100 yards long — for everyone” assumes that everyone has equitable access to play. But equality and equity aren’t the same. While standards might be consistent on the field, conditions are much more uneven off it.
Black and brown communities have always had inadequate access to sports, which the pandemic exacerbated. Many people working in sports-based youth-development nonprofits could use philanthropists’ resources to help close that gap.
I do agree that the philanthropy, nonprofit, and academic worlds can learn from the power of sports, as it is indeed “the most culturally important endeavor in our nation.” That is a bright spot I can wholeheartedly get behind.
Mandy Murphy
Founder
MNM Strategy LLC