Steve Wilks lawsuit against NFL

PDXChris

All In!
Supporting Member
Banned from P+R
Joined
Mar 28, 2003
Posts
31,648
Reaction score
28,559
Location
Nowhere
xc_hide_links_from_guests_guests_error_hide_media
You must be registered for see images attach


I feel for Wilks, but he couldn't coach the defense and had one of the all time worst offenses in NFL history. He was in over his head.
 

TJ

Frank Kaminsky is my Hero.
Joined
Apr 2, 2005
Posts
35,158
Reaction score
21,461
Location
South Bay
“Although I went 3-13, had both the worst offense and defense in the league, couldn’t keep a coaching staff in place, and completely lost the locker room after the Chargers game, I was wrongfully terminated based on race.”
 

TJ

Frank Kaminsky is my Hero.
Joined
Apr 2, 2005
Posts
35,158
Reaction score
21,461
Location
South Bay
I think the optics are awful for the Cards and this has an excellent chance of being ruled in favor of Wilks, even though the numbers and performance on the field support his termination. This is on top of the team keeping Keim after poor personnel moves and his DUI
 

Syracusecards

DA's pass went that way
Joined
Oct 27, 2004
Posts
4,344
Reaction score
4,556
xc_hide_links_from_guests_guests_error_hide_media
You must be registered for see images attach


I feel for Wilks, but he couldn't coach the defense and had one of the all time worst offenses in NFL history. He was in over his head.
where his lawsuit falls apart is the Cardinals have been known for years to be one of the most progressive organizations when it comes to equal opportunity hiring. Weren’t we the first team to have a black coach and GM? Also, if Kliff was black I still think they would have hired him for his offense and potential with KM. I think it is definitely a problem in the NFL, just don’t think the Cardinals are a main culprit.
 

TRW

ASFN Addict
Joined
Jan 13, 2003
Posts
7,855
Reaction score
7,587
Location
Avondale, AZ
When you are basing your argument on being fired discriminatorily and then admit that your successor succeeded but you "surely would have succeeded as well" kills your accusation IMO. You shouldn't be able to win a point by some hypothetical assertion as that.

But, if the lawsuit was just about the firing of Steve Wilks it would be thrown out. I would think the Mike Malarkey admission that he was told he had the job before the Rooney Rule was followed in Tennessee will have more teeth than the Wilks piling on. There is a lot more compelling evidence of discrimination than Mr. Wilks firing.
 

AZ Native

Living is Easy with Eyes Closed
Joined
Apr 30, 2007
Posts
16,033
Reaction score
8,565
Location
Cave Creek
Saw this one coming. That team was unwatchable. It was a controversial firing but anyone who watched all the games could see it coming. Hiring a college coach with a losing record just looked bad. I think it was the right decision. With the Bidweill's minority prior hiring practices I think they believed they were doing the right thing for the team. But again, it looked bad and was blasted nationally.
 

Cheesebeef

ASFN IDOL
Supporting Member
Joined
Jan 2, 2003
Posts
92,162
Reaction score
70,340
xc_hide_links_from_guests_guests_error_hide_media
You must be registered for see images attach


I feel for Wilks, but he couldn't coach the defense and had one of the all time worst offenses in NFL history. He was in over his head.
He was also provided with the worst roster I’ve ever seen since 2002. The idea that Keim didn’t deserve to get fired for the hire and deciding the entire coaching staff and personnel… even after he got an extreme DUI that same off-season looks terrible at least from an optics standpoint and at least makes an argument for disparate treatment.

Especially in light of a massive contract extension for Keim right after a humiliating end to the season and with 1 playoff win in 9 years.
 

AsUpRoDiGy

Magnanimous
Joined
Apr 13, 2009
Posts
6,830
Reaction score
5,150
Location
Phx
Dude has been demoted each succeeding job, so obviously he's just not very good at what he does. Bidwill is an idiot for hiring him, and even more so for keeping Keim. It’s not racism…it’s just absolutely awful decision making.
 

Zalixar

Hall of Famer
Joined
Dec 7, 2020
Posts
2,207
Reaction score
3,949
Location
OC
Keim not getting fired is the biggest issue. Even if Wilks was terrible, the main idea overall is black coaches (and to an extent in the world outside of NFL) is they are given fewer chances and shorter leashes (which is even mentioned). I mean, he's not wrong.

Racism is a lot different these days. It's not always explicit as it used to be, it's a lot more nuanced and I think the reality of veiled racism exists in many forms. It may not always actually be racist, but because there is reasonable doubt (i.e, Wilks sucked), there will always be skeptics and truth obfuscated, racism will continue to seep through cracks time and time again.

By the time the majority realize it, it will morph again into something else. Racism runs deep throughout human history, it's not just going to go away that easily.
 
Last edited:

TJ

Frank Kaminsky is my Hero.
Joined
Apr 2, 2005
Posts
35,158
Reaction score
21,461
Location
South Bay
Rough time to be an owner of a Valley team
 
Top