Category: thexfl

Will no NBA playoff games on Saturday help the XFL Championship Game’s ratings?

May 12, 2023
The D.C. Defenders went 9-1 en route to the XFL Championship Game

On Saturday at 8:00 p.m. EST on ABC (or ESPN+) in San Antonio, Texas, the D.C. Defenders (9-1) will face the Arlington Renegades (4-6) in the XFL Championship Game at the Alamodome. But, will anybody watch?

The league is hoping so, as the NBA playoffs have the night off. The XFL has a chance to take center stage, and they need it. Check this out from Sports Media Watch last week:

“The USFL delivered the two largest spring football audiences of last weekend — its first weekly win in the three weeks it has gone head-to-head with the XFL — as Memphis-Houston drew a 0.47 rating and 776,000 viewers on FOX last Saturday and Pittsburgh-Philadelphia 0.46 and 761,000 on NBC Sunday.

The two FOX windows last week — Memphis-Houston on Saturday and New Jersey-Michigan on Sunday (0.35, 563K) — won head-to-head matchups with the XFL playoffs on ESPN (Arlington-Houston: 0.38, 675K; Seattle-DC: 0.28, 478K).

No USFL or XFL game has cracked the million viewer mark in the three weeks the leagues have competed against each other. The XFL took top honors the previous week with a 0.51 and 832,000 for DC-San Antonio on ABC, as the USFL topped out at a 0.48 and 798,000 for Memphis-Birmingham on FOX.”

A Defenders win will be a good day for Black coaches

If the Defenders win, it will be a good day for Black coaches, who, as we know, struggle to find and keep jobs as head coaches in pro football. Last April, the XFL announced Hines Ward, Terrell Buckley, Reggie Barlow, Rod Woodson, Wade Phillips, Bob Stoops, Anthony Becht, and Jim Haslett as its coaches for this season. Four of the eight coaches were Black, which is groundbreaking given that the NFL only has three coaches that identify as Black, which is only two more than the league had in 1921.

The Defenders’ Reggie Barlow could be the first coach, of any race, to win the XFL Championship in the league’s inaugural year in its new iteration on Saturday night.

Records could be set on Saturday — in TV ratings and the diversity column. 

Every Black football coach should be rooting for Reggie Barlow in the XFL Championship Game

May 2, 2023
D.C. Defenders head coach Reggie Barlow has his team vying for a championship

When Fritz Pollard became the NFL’s first Black coach in 1921 people of that time viewed it as progress. Later this month, Reggie Barlow could be the first coach, of any race, to win the XFL Championship in the league’s inaugural year in its new iteration when Barlow’s D.C Defenders take on the Arlington Renegades on Saturday, May 13, in San Antonio. 102 years later and the NFL only has two more Black coaches than it did over a century ago. Year one of the latest version of the XFL featured more Black coaches than the NFL — and one of them might win it all.

Saying that the NFL hates Black coaches would be an understatement.

“We’ve gained a lot of momentum and, with momentum, confidence,” said Barlow about his team that has the best record in the league at 9-1. But as we’ve seen, that momentum is missing when it comes to giving Black coaches a chance in the NFL.

XFL hired four Black coaches

Last April, the XFL announced Hines Ward, Terrell Buckley, Reggie Barlow, Rod Woodson, Wade Phillips, Bob Stoops, Anthony Becht, and Jim Haslett as its coaches for the 2023 season. The image spoke volumes, as four of the eight coaches were Black. Somehow the XFL had done more for Black coaches before their season began than the NFL had done in over 100 years.

At the time, Mike Tomlin (Pittsburgh Steelers), Lovie Smith (Houston Texans), and Todd Bowles (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) were the only men who identified as Black as head coaches in the NFL. A year later, the list remains the same, with DeMeco Ryans taking Smith’s spot in Texas.

“You put the Black people in front of them and they’re still not going to give them jobs, which is going to wind up being something else,” Bomani Jones explained on one of his podcast episodes at the time. “But the ‘we need a pipeline’ (argument) implies that somehow that Black people who coach are literally invisible, and that you yourself are not capable of seeing a Black person and recognizing their capabilities. And if that’s the case, say it.”

The Brian Flores lawsuit is still active

Mind you, the NFL had Brian Flores, Ray Horton, and Steve Wilks’ class-action lawsuit for their racist hiring practices hanging over their heads at the time. Fast forward to now, and nothing has changed. In March, a New York judge decided that some parts of Flores’ claims can be pursued in open court and not in arbitration, as it’s starting to feel like a settlement is the best option for the league.

It would be wrong to discuss the XFL and the USFL as if they’re leagues that have captured the nation’s attention or pose a threat to the NFL. But in a country where football is king and over 54 million people tuned in to watch a three-day draft, it would be ignorant to ignore the game’s impact on society.

And when that’s taken into account, along with how racial hiring in sports and diversity efforts in Corporate America mirror each other, it’s easy to see why the XFL and NFL are so different with their approaches. One needs diversity to survive. The other thrives without it — which is a choice.