#Diversity group ‘deeply troubled’ by alleged Woody Johnson remarks

The leaders of the Fritz Pollard Alliance, a group that champions diversity in the NFL, released a statement Thursday to say they were “troubled” by the allegations of racist and sexist comments against Jets owner Woody Johnson.

CNN reported Wednesday that Johnson, in his role as US Ambassador to the United Kingdom, was accused of making insensitive remarks by several people and is being investigated by the State Department inspector General. Johnson has denied making any insensitive remarks.

The NFL has referred all media inquiries to the State Department, but Fritz Pollard chairman Harry Carson and executive director Rod Graves, who was a Jets executive from 2013-15, called on the NFL to take action if these allegations are proven.

“The Fritz Pollard Alliance is deeply troubled by allegations of insensitive remarks about race and gender made by New York Jets Owner Woody Johnson while serving abroad as a U.S. Ambassador,” Carson and Graves said in a statement issued early Thursday.

“Allegations of this nature, if true, are damaging to the social fabric of our country and cannot be tolerated. While only allegations at this point, they are serious. We call on the NFL to carefully monitor this situation and, if the allegations have merit, to take appropriate action and work toward rooting out such sentiments from the NFL community.”

Johnson has not been the active owner of the team since 2017 when he became an ambassador. His brother Christopher Johnson has run day-to-day operations since then.

Woody Johnson has a strong track record when it comes to diversity hiring. He has hired two black head coaches, Herm Edwards in 2001 and Todd Bowles in 2015. The Jets have also had several minorities in top-level front-office jobs under Johnson.