Mike McDaniel, the new coach of the Dolphins, said it was “weird” how fixated the media has been on his racial identity during his introductory press conference on Thursday.
ESPN, for example, in discussing McDaniel this week, has repeatedly mentioned that he “identifies himself as biracial.” McDaniel’s father is Black and his mother is white. During the press conference, he was asked about the ways that his racial identity has been discussed.
“It’s been very odd to tell you the truth,” McDaniel said.
“This idea of identifying as something. I think people identify me as something, but I identify as a human being. My dad’s Black, so whatever you want to call it … I know there’s a lot of people with a shared experience.”
McDaniel previously served as the 49ers’ offensive coordinator. Due to NFL Rooney Rules aimed at encouraging organizations to develop minority assistants into head coaching candidates — which have not otherwise largely been successful — the 49ers received a pair of third-round picks when the Dolphins hired McDaniel.
In recent weeks, the league has been under fire for its lack of Black coaches. Former Dolphins head coach Brian Flores filed a lawsuit against the NFL and each of its teams on Feb. 1 — the first day of Black History Month — for unfair hiring practices. Flores alleges that his interview with the Giants was a “sham” and that the organization had already decided to hire Brian Daboll before interviewing him.
“It’s weird that it comes up because I’ve just tried to be a good person. I think my background opens my eyes a little bit,” McDaniel said. “I don’t have any real experience with racism because … I don’t know … I know my mom experienced it when she married my dad. I know my dad experienced it. It’s in my family. But, I guess that makes me a human being that can identify with other people’s problems.”
In January, Deadspin published a story about McDaniel’s head coaching candidacy and mis-identified him as white.
“Sure, Mike McDaniel seems cool, but he’s not worthy of a head coaching gig yet,” the author Sean Beckwith wrote. “Please stop and think before you inadvertently dub another young, white guy as the next hot NFL coaching prospect.”
When Deadspin learned of McDaniel’s father, it posted an editor’s note: “We learned after the publication of this article that 49ers OC Mike McDaniel, whom we describe as a ‘white guy,’ is in fact biracial. The article’s original text remains below. We regret the error.”
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New Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel: Focus on my racial identity is 'weird' - New York Post
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