Korean NFL coach says he was told he was ‘not the right minority’ when interviewing for job

An NFL assistant coach of Korean descent said he was told he was “not the right minority” when he was interviewing for a coaching job, the Boston Globe reported.  

Eugene Chung told the Globe last week that during an interview with an unidentified NFL team, one of the staff members said to Chung, “Well, you’re really not a minority.”

Chung told the Globe he was “blown away” by the comment.

“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,’” Chung said. “So I was like, ‘What do you mean I’m not a minority?’”

“You are not the right minority we’re looking for,” Chung says the interviewer told him.

“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 told the Globe.  “It was absolutely mind-blowing to me that, in 2021, something like that is actually a narrative.”

Chung, 51, spent five seasons as an offensive tackle for the New England Patriots, Jacksonville Jaguars and Indianapolis Colts, appearing in 55 games, according to ESPN. 

Chung started his career as a football coach in 2010, and served stints with the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs, winning a Super Bowl ring with the Eagles in 2018. 

The report comes as the NFL has attempted to rework its Rooney Rule, where teams have to interview at least two minority coaches for openings. According to the Globe, the league passed in November a rule that rewards teams who develop minority coaches with draft compensation. 

Even with what happened Chung said he doesn’t blame the NFL for the reported incident. 

“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 told the Globe. “It’s just when the Asians don’t fit the narrative, that’s where my stomach churns a little bit.”

The Hill has reached out to the NFL for comment.