Editor’s note: The following article is an op-ed, and the views expressed are the author’s own. Read more opinions on theGrio.
With only 32 teams in the NFL, aspiring front-office professionals can’t be choosy when an opportunity arises. That’s especially true for Black job seekers who often only get a shot with fixer-upper franchises like the Detroit Lions.
But when you graduate from an HBCU and work the counter at Enterprise Rent-A-Car while trying to launch your career, the prospect of shepherding a perennial loser doesn’t faze you. If all that’s required for a turnaround is smarts, hard work and a little good fortune, you like your chances. Where do we sign?
A laughingstock in 2021, the Lions chose Brad Holmes as their executive vice president and general manager. He became the league’s third Black GM at the time, rewarded for 18 years of service with the St. Louis/Los Angeles Rams. Three years into the job, with Detroit on the brink of its first Super Bowl, it’s safe to say Holmes is crushing it.
This is why we love sports and movies, where inspirational stories enjoy the most visibility. Holmes isn’t the only person who started as an intern in his chosen field and worked his way up to a corner office. But real-life mailroom-to-boardroom tales don’t garner as much coverage as an NFL team reaching a conference final for the first time since 1991.
Sports
Thanks to Holmes’ shrewd roster-building (he’s acquired roughly half the players), the Lions have won two playoff games in a single postseason for the first time since 1957. If they prevail against San Francisco on Sunday and advance to the Super Bowl, I fully expect more guttural yells in the postgame elevator.
Not bad for a guy who graduated from North Carolina A&T with a degree in journalism and mass communications. Hell, he started out as a public relations intern — in the NBA! — after playing defensive…
Read the full article here
