Jerod Mayo, the first Black head coach for the Patriots says he does see color. During a press conference that went viral on X, formerly known as Twitter, Mayo said: “I do see color because I believe if you don’t see color, you can’t see racism.”
He continued by saying that acknowledging race “does matter so we can try to fix the problem that we all know we have.”
The statement from the Patriots coach has garnered mixed reactions. As Wade Miller wrote, “So basically the opposite of what MLK said… No thanks, hard pass racists.”
“I’m so tired of this pseudo-profound reaction to colourblindness. Mayo sounds like a good guy, but this nonsense needs to stop,” said another user.
However, others are continuing to support Mayo, including former NFL quarterback, Robert Griffing III, writing, “Jerod Mayo is the 1sth Black Head Coach of the @Patriots and he doesn’t shy away from it or any issues about race in our country.”
The induction of Jerod Mayo means the end of Bill Belichick’s era, who was a six-time Super Bowl winner. Mayo becomes the NFL’s youngest head couch at only 37 years old and is the NFL’s fourth coach. There are another seven coach openings in the NFL.
