May 24, 2021
There is a nationwide push to punish successful Asian-American students in nearly every major university and specialty high schools. Asians are often times nearly half the population of these schools and apparently, that’s too much.
However, the NFL and NBA will never apply the same standards in sports because merit only counts in sports. Former NFL offensive lineman and assistant coach Eugene Chung—who is Korean-American—says he was told he was “not the right minority” while interviewing for an NFL coaching job this offseason, according to ESPN.
51-year-old Chung played five seasons in the NFL, appearing in 55 career games for the New England Patriots, Jacksonville Jaguars, and Indianapolis Colts, according to ESPN.
“It was said to me, ‘Well, you’re really not a minority,’” Chung stated to The Boston Globe on Thursday, May 20. “I was like, ‘Wait a minute. The last time I checked, when I looked in the mirror and brushed my teeth, I was a minority.’”
When Chung asked the interviewer to explain, he was told he was “not the right minority that we’re looking for.” He did not identify the team in question but stated he was stunned to hear such a comment.
“I asked about it, and as soon as the backtracking started, I was like, ‘Oh, no, no, no, no, no, you said it. Now that it’s out there, let’s talk about it.’” Chung explained to The Globe. “It was absolutely mind-blowing to me that, in 2021, something like that is actually a narrative.”
After playing professionally for five years, Chung served as an assistant coach for the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs, However, he hasn’t held a position since being let go by the Eagles back in 2019.
“I’m not sitting here bashing the league at all, because there are great mentors and there are great coaches that embrace the difference,” Chung said. “It’s just when the Asians don’t fit the narrative, that’s where my stomach churns a little bit.”
“For me, in this profession, I don’t think I’m looked at as a minority,” Chung said, according to the newspaper. “Whether that’s good or bad, I don’t know.”
Feature Image via Associated Press