Browns Digest

History, Legacy Demand Browns Lead Amid Racial Turmoil

The Cleveland Browns front office has been finalized, is now led by three black executives and in a time of crisis over race, an organization that has often been right on racial issues must live up to a proud legacy with words as well as action.

Pete Smith

When Glenn Cook was promoted to Vice President of Pro Personnel, the Cleveland Browns staked their claim as the most progressive franchise in the NFL, coinciding with an important moment in this nation's history. The team had already hired the league's youngest general manager in the in Andrew Berry in January, one of only two black executives leading teams. Berry hired Kwesi Adofo-Mensah to be the Vice President of Football Operations, so along with Cook, the three highest ranking members of the Browns front office are black.

While the Browns were just trying to put together the strongest front office they could, building a team that can win the Super Bowl, the country fell into chaos as the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis has sparked 12 straight days (and counting) of protests across the country demanding civil rights and police to be held accountable for their actions, particularly when it comes to brutality against minorities.

By pure happenstance, the Cleveland Browns, a franchise that has often made history when it comes to the issue of race, find themselves as potentially one of the most influential organizations in the league in terms of civil rights and league policy.

From Marion Motley leading the Browns to a championship a year before Jackie Robinson would play first base for the Brooklyn Dodgers to Jim Brown hosting a summit of black athletes in support of Muhammad Ali refusing to fight in Vietnam in 1967, the Browns once again find themselves in the spotlight with a chance to further the cause of civil rights and social justice in America.

Browns tight end Seth DeValve was the first white player to take a knee in the NFL in 2017 to support of both his teammates as well as his wife, who is black, and their children, who as DeValve put it, "don't look like me".

In response to criticism for players on their team kneeling in protest, Jimmy and Dee Haslam released a powerful statement, both supporting the players protesting and rebuking the President condemning them.

Various players have spoken out, supported causes while the Browns have often remained silent, neither denying them that ability nor endorsing those causes. It wasn't until two of their players, Jarvis Landry and Odell Beckham participated in a influential video demanding change from the league that the Browns once again put their thumb on the scale.

It was subtle, but important. Only a tweet, it supported a video of players on their team speaking out, demanding change and accountability from the NFL for their own poor record in recent years. It's not something that needs to be hailed as a triumph by the team, but it is notable. Even if the team didn't specifically endorse anything said in the video, only supporting the players' right to speak and attempt to influence change, it added credibility to the message.

That video produced results. Instead of simply releasing a statement, Commissioner Roger Goodell recorded a response posted the following day that was a step in the right direction. Most notably, Goodell said, "We the National Football League admit we were wrong for not listening to our players." More needs to be done by the NFL, but it's a sea change and hopefully the start of something bigger.

Both in 2017 and now in 2020, the Browns front offices were lead by black executives with Berry a part of both. Berry served as Vice President of Pro Personnel in Sashi Brown's front office in 2017. The head coach of the team, Hue Jackson, also played a role. 

Whether they were actively expressing their desire for the franchise to support the rights of players to protest and speak out or an organization with black leaders simply wouldn't allow itself to be idle for risk of embarrassment, the team found itself on the right side of history. Colin Kaepernick and by extension players that knelt including a number of Browns players were right then and the voices of players, including but certainly not limited to Beckham and Landry, are right now.

Berry spent this last season with the Philadelphia Eagles working for general manager Howie Roseman. The Eagles won the Super Bowl in 2018 and they did it with the most socially active and responsible roster in the league at that time. Players like Malcolm Jenkins, Torrey Smith and Chris Long have been at the forefront of social issues, which likely empowered quarterback Carson Wentz to come out strong as well as early with his comments addressing institutional racism.

The moment requires the Browns to take hold of the opportunity to be a beacon of light for where the NFL should go and what it can be on the issues of civil rights and social justice. The Browns have been at the forefront of hiring minority candidates and they can set the tone for the rest of the league in terms of how social responsibility should look.

As progressive as the Browns have been on this front, there are teams and owners that only act when their hand is forced. That's why the Rooney Rule was enacted and that's why the suggestion of inducing owners to hire minority candidates was at least considered, even if it was tabled.

The Washington Redskins, as an example, had to be forced to add a black player to their roster in 1962, which led to the trade for Bobby Mitchell that allowed the Browns to draft Ernie Davis, the first black recipient of the Heisman Trophy. And until they put a potato on the side of their helmet (Fran Drescher voice: Thank you, Mr. Tony!), that team still exists as a monument to white privilege in this country and represents how far this league still has to go.

Whether Berry decides to take the approach that Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores took, making a passionate public statement, remains to be seen. At the latest, it will undoubtedly be addressed at his next press conference. But as the Browns, along with the Dolphins, have the most black leadership in the league, it's an opportunity to make a difference.

It's incumbent for the Browns as an organization keep pushing the league forward toward civil rights and social justice to live up to their own legacy, both in how they treat the people they might employ as well as the communities they impact. Whether it was winning championships loaded with Hall of Fame players or one of the only teams in the league to go winless, the Browns have spent the overwhelming amount of their existence on the right side of history when it comes to these issues. 

The Haslams have been desperately trying to put a winning product on the field since they purchased the team in 2008 and finally appear to be on the right track to get there. They have been responsible custodians of the team off the field and this is the moment they can add to the organization's legacy and not only make members of the Browns both past and present proud to be part of its history, but change a country for the better.

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Pete Smith
PETE SMITH

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