NFL Exec Compares Combine to ‘Slave Auction’ During Ownership Meetings

NFL Executive Vice President of Football Operations Troy Vincent has something in common with Colin Kaepernick: Both think the NFL Combine is like a slave auction.

Vincent reportedly said that the NFL scouting combine had the characteristics of a “slave auction” on Thursday at the NFL owners meetings in Dallas, CBS Sports reports.

The remark drew an immediate response from several owners who took issue with Vincent’s characterization.

“Sources within the ownership meeting revealed details of what Vincent said among team owners that included the reference to a slave auction,” CBS Sports reports. “In the meeting, Vincent’s comments drew an immediate response from Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank, who stood up and registered his offense, according to sources. Blank, who has a strong record on diversity and inclusion over his two decades in the NFL, took umbrage with the idea that he was either taking part in or helping to prop up an event that could be considered racist.”

Blank was not alone. Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones also took great umbrage with the comparison. Sources told CBS Sports that Jones claimed it was a “privilege” to play in the NFL. However, a Cowboys spokesman later said that Jones used the word “opportunity” instead of “privilege.”

Steelers Owner Art Rooney II argued that the personal information gained about players during interviews and the physical information gained about them during weigh-ins and measurements is critical to the draft process.

In his Netflix documentary Colin in Black & White, former NFL quarterback and anthem protester Colin Kaepernick compared the weigh-in portion of the draft to a slave auction. However, the NFL does not televise that portion of the combine.

Vincent portrayed the reportedly tense exchange with the owners as a “good discussion.”

“We just feel like the overall experience, talking to the players, we can be better in that particular aspect,” Vincent told media later in the day. “So there was, I would say, a good discussion around what that looks like, where we could be, keeping in mind that the combine is the player’s first experience with the National Football League, and in that experience, there has to be dignity.

“It’s a great opportunity for the young men, but there has to be some form of dignity and level of dignity and respect as they go through that process. That was the overall theme around our combine [discussion.]”

Comparisons between the NFL Combine and slave auctions are absurd on their face and don’t require a lengthy explanation as to why. However, what is essential to learn from this story is that the absurd, historically inaccurate, and insulting arguments of a certified idiot, such as Colin Kaepernick, are now being copied by NFL executives in ownership meetings.

That’s how deep the rot has set in.