chenyan94: general gender hiring

Big D is about to stand for something other than Dallas.

The NFL is bringing its Big D 鈥?the draft 鈥?to Jerry Jones' palace. This draft [url=www.bengalscheapshop.com/cheap-authentic-billy-price-jersey]Authentic Billy Price Jersey[/url] , the first in a stadium, will pay homage in so many ways to the cliche that everything is bigger in Texas.

Ever since the league decided to put the draft up for bids and move it around the country, the focus has been to make it grow even larger than the cottage industry it has become.

From an historic theater setting in Chicago, with Grant Park as the backdrop, to the front yard of the iconic Philadelphia Art Museum with the Rocky statue atop its steps, the picks have become an accompaniment to the surroundings as much as a process in team building.

Now, the draft enters a building that can hold 100,000 people, though capacity has been set at 20,000 inside for the April 26-28 proceedings.

Peter O'Reilly, the NFL's senior vice president for events and the man who oversees planning for the draft, Super Bowl and opening weekend of the season, projects another 90,000 fans daily will be outside AT&T Stadium at the NFL Draft Experience. All tickets are free, with fans having signed up via a ticket lottery for the chance to get into the Cowboys' home.

"In some ways, this is easier than building a massive structure," O'Reilly said.

The league did exactly that last spring in Philly.

"The question is how to turn a stadium into a winning draft environment. In Philadelphia [url=www.jaguarsauthorizedshops.com]Jaguars Game Jerseys[/url] , there was such a great energy and that is something we want to recreate," he said. "The draft is always special. It's the time of year, the return to spring and hope. No one wins or loses that day, there's positive vibes."

To that end, this draft will include specific cheering (and, yes, some will become booing) sections for all 32 teams. Modeled somewhat on how political convention floors look, each "Inner Circle" will have 50 fans of that club, with team signage and colors. Cheeseheads and Terrible Towels aren't likely to be optional for the Packers and Steelers fans, of course.

This special area features team rivalry zones, plus opportunities to celebrate the picks with NFL players current and past, including some Hall of Famers. O'Reilly notes that if a prospect chosen by that team is on hand, he will directly "connect with his new fan base."

Teams are using various means for choosing fans who get to sit in their exclusive club section. Buffalo, for example, has an extensive "Bills Backers" presence in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. One of the co-presidents of the fan club in that area, Ezra Castro, is a frequent visitor to New Era Field for Bills home games [url=www.newenglandpatriotsteamonline.com/troy-niklas-jersey]Authentic Troy Niklas Jersey[/url] , despite the distance. Castro, known as "Pancho Billa" for his game-day costume that includes a sombrero and facemask, is battling cancer.

"We thought giving him the opportunity to bring 50 fans ... would show how much we appreciate him and empathize with his situation," says Shaena Kershner, the Bills' head of marketing.

Kershner adds the team will send a "hype person to get that group rowdy, which is not very hard for our fans" when Buffalo's turns come, as well as providing merchandise and memorabilia.

The Packers also went that route, offering Inner Circle spots through a lottery to season ticket holders in the North Texas area, and then using the "Packers Everywhere" app to entice other Green Bay fans near the Cowboys' stadium to attend. It wasn't difficult rounding up 50.

"We were hitting people who were interested and could commit to (the first two days of the draft)," says Kandi Goltz, the Packers' game and fan development manager. "We have really avid fans who will be there and there will be a lot of enthusiasm."

Each Packers fan will have a cheesehead that the team is shipping to Dallas, although that might be superfluous because nearly every follower of the franchise owns one.

"It should look awesome on TV," Goltz says.

The Falcons are sending members of their independent supporters group "The Cast." Cast members are responsible for their own travel and expenses; the team blocked hotel rooms for them. At their Inner Circle will be Fatheads and drums.

Atlanta is sending cheerleaders, too.

The five finalists to host the 2019 or 2020 draft are Kansas City, Nashville, Las Vegas, Canton/Cleveland and Denver. Those two drafts will awarded at the league meetings in May.

"We see it as an opportunity [url=www.arizonadiamondbacksteamshop.com/authentic-gregor-blanco-jersey]Gregor Blanco Jersey[/url] ," O'Reilly says "This model is never cookie-cutter, it is unique to what each town and club offers. It's not the same canvas in each place, but finding a way to bring it to life in that community."

The NBA leads the way in men’s professional sports when it comes to racial and gender hiring practices, according to a diversity report released Tuesday.

The league earned an A for racial hiring practices and a B for gender hiring practices for an overall grade of an A. That keeps the NBA ”significantly above” other professional sports, according to Richard Lapchick, the report’s author and the director of The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport.

”The NBA remains the industry leader among men’s sports for racial and gender hiring practices even with the increased grading scales introduced last season,” Lapchick said.

The report states that the NBA league office has the best record for people of color in men’s professional sports at a 36.4 percent (357 of 980) employment rate.

The league, which was first to have three team owners who are people of color, had seven women who served as team presidents/CEOs during the 2017-2018 season – the highest among men’s professional sports.

The report states there are also more NBA general managers and head coaches of color than in the past.

The general managers who are people of color doubled last season from 10 percent (3 of 30) to 20 percent (6 of 30), which puts the NBA well ahead of other men’s sports leagues.

That’s a big positive, Lapchick said.

Nine of 30 NBA head coaches were people of color last season. But following changes at the end of this past season, one-third (10 of 30) of all NBA head coaches are now people of color.

The same trend has trickled down to the assistant coach level, where the percentage of people of color increased from 45.4 percent (74 of 163) in 2016-2017 to 45.7 percent (79 of 173) this past season.

Likewise, there was an increase in the percentage of people of color as vice presidents at the team level, increasing to 25.4 percent (148 of 583) this past season, up nearly six percent (86 of 442) from the previous season.

Lapchick also said that in two of the other categories that were reclassified – team management and team professional staff – the percentage of people of color increased significantly from 23.4 percent (174 of 744) to 31.2 percent (771 of 2,469) and from 32.6 percent (976 of 2 [url=www.losangelesramsteamonline.com/customized]Customized Los Angeles Rams Jerseys[/url] ,997) to 39.5 percent (1,135 of 2,871), respectively.

Lapchick had some concerns when it comes to gender hiring at the team level, a category which dropped for the third straight year.

The percentage of women decreased for team vice presidents and team professional staff. Women who held team vice president positions made up 23.5 percent (137 of 583), a slight decrease from last year’s study. The percentage of women in team professional staff positions decreased by 2.9 percentage points from 40.1 percent (1,202 of 2,997) in to 37.2 percent (1,068 of 2,871).

”It’s something we are keeping an eye on,” Lapchick said. ”In men’s sports in general gender hiring is a major concern.”

However, Lapchick said the NBA still outpaces other leagues in gender hiring.

Despite those slight drop-offs in gender hiring, Lapchick called Commissioner Adam Silver and the NBA the ”industry leaders” among all men’s professional sports leagues in overall racial and gender hiring practices.

—

.