Photo courtesy of Twitter.
Miami Dolphins new head coach Mike McDaniel fumbled during a press conference on Feb. 10 when asked about race.
The new coach, who has a Black father and white mother, seemed nervous speaking in front of the cameras. As a result, he went on a long rant about identifying as human when asked about his racial identity.
The NFL has called McDaniel a minority hire, which prompted a conversation about privilege because McDaniel passed for a white man and said he has never experienced racism because of it.
McDaniel also identifies as multi-racial.
When asked about the controversy during the press conference, the former San Francisco 49ers assistant head coach nervously gave a non-answer concerning race.
“Yeah it’s been very odd to tell you the truth,” he said. “This idea of identifying as something, um, you know, I think people identify me as something, but I identify as a human being and um, it… it.. my dad’s Black, so whatever you wanna call it.”
“It’s weird that it comes up because the, you know, I’ve just tried to be a good person, and I think my background opens my eyes a little bit,” he continued. “Um, I dont have any real experience with racism because, you know I think you identify me as something close to, I don’t know. I know my mom experienced racism when she married my dad. I know my dad experienced it, that’s in my family…But I guess that makes me a human being that can identify with other people’s problems.”
Twitter users had jokes about Mike McDaniel and his public speaking skills, or lack thereof. Twitter also had jokes about McDaniels being the NFL’s diversity hire.
McDaniel began as an intern for the Denver Broncos in 2005 before becoming an intern for three years with the Houston Texans. He was an assistant coach for Washington from 2011 until 2014. He then became the Cleveland Browns’ wide receivers’ coach.
He also coached the Falcons before moving on as the run game coordinator for the San Francisco 49ers, where he became an assistant head coach.
The 38-year-old McDaniel will be the third-youngest coach in the NFL with his head coaching job with the Miami Dolphins.