While most are focusing on the diversity and social justice efforts in the NFL and NBA, MLS has quietly, yet successfully, scored victory after victory.
Unfortunately, not many outside of the sport have properly acknowledged or appreciated their accomplishments.
In 2020, Black MLS players launched “Black Players For Change”, an independent organization featuring over 170 MLS players, coaches and staff. Their goal is to address the racial inequalities and injustices Black people face in both MLS and society, something they’ve taken very seriously after George Floyd’s murder.
It’s not just the players taking action as teams like FC Dallas and D.C. United have committed to fostering change and embracing diversity as well.
And MLS itself manifests the diversity of the global sport as well,
In 2020, according to Forbes.com, 200 of the 780 MLS rosters spots were held by Black players from 35 different nations including the United States, Canada, Columbia, Franc, Brazil and other countries.
That accounts for roughly 25.6% of the league.
This isn’t by chance, for MLS puts its money where its mouth is when it comes to diversity efforts.
In 2019, the league earned an A rating for racial hiring from The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport (TIDES) at the University of Central Florida.
That’s something MLS EVP and Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer, Sola Winley, told me the league is proud of and committed to maintaining.
“We have to be able to show up and show the diversity we talk about,” said Winley during our conversation.
And show up is what MLS did in its most recent partnership.
MLS and The National Black Bank Foundation
Last month, the league announced a historic partnership with the National Black Bank Foundation (NBBF) to help bring financial empowerment to Black businesses and communities.
Through a $25 million loan secured through a syndicate of Black banks, MLS aims to bring financial equity to communities of color across the country through lines of credit for home and small business loans.
“Major League Soccer’s partnership with the National Black Bank Foundation is a tangible step in the efforts to close the racial economic gap in the United States, and it’s the right business decision for us,” said MLS Commissioner Don Garber. “As a league, we continue to increase our initiatives in support of racial justice. In order to make a genuine impact, economic justice must be part of the equation. This transaction with a syndicate of community-focused Black banks is an important measure, and it is our hope this will raise awareness of the importance of Black-owned banks and their impact on the economy.”
That last part is one of the most significant, yet often overlooked factors.
The importance of Black-owned banks.
Too often Black banks lack the financial resources to provide the communities they represent with the products and services needed to forge business success and build wealth. This creates economic problems for both businesses and individual consumers, thus increasing the economic void plaguing Black America.
MLS says this partnership marks the first time any sports league has “participated in a major commercial transaction exclusively with Black banks.”
And it also reinvigorates a decades-old idea promoted by Dr. Martin Luther King.
In his last speech in Memphis in 1968, Dr. King stressed the importance of Black banks in Black America’s fight for economic justice and equality.
“We’ve got to strengthen Black institutions,” said Dr. King. “I call upon you to take your money out of the banks downtown and deposit your money in Tri-State Bank [a Black-owned bank]—we want a bank-in movement in Memphis.”
And it’s only fitting that Dr. King’s support for Black banks acts as the foundation for this transaction as his daughter, Dr. Bernice A. King, sits on the board of the NBBF and played an integral part in birthing this partnership.
How it all came together
Winley was hired by MLS in February of 2021. A week into the job, Bernice King called him and told him she was on the NBBF board and they should explore ways of working together.
After a year of meetings and discussions with the NBBF, 100 Black Men of America, National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Black Players for Change and MLS, the partnership was finally cemented.
While it wasn’t easy, it was worth the effort.
“We were able to prove and demonstrate that there’s a pathway to getting these things done in sports,” Winley told me.
But this is far more than a sports deal. This is a deal benefitting Black businesses and communities.
“The focus is on supporting Black banks so they’re capitalized to help the local community,” said Winley.
When you look at the economic data, you understand the significance of this partnership and the importance of capitalizing Black banks.
In 2020, 19.8% of Black applicants were denied a mortgage and Black mortgage applicants were denied at a rate 84% higher than white borrowers.
In addition, Black homeownership has fallen from a high of 49.7% (2004) to 44%.
Even more alarming is the fact that in 2019, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, the typical white family had $184,000 in wealth while the typical Black family had $23,000.
The pandemic widened the racial disparities in the mortgage and housing markets, and it hampered the effort to help close the racial wealth gap.
That gap has further increased as Black banks suffer from blatant undercapitalization. This, in turn, limits the amount of credit it can supply Black communities with.
This new partnership directly addresses the financial chasm plaguing Black America and acts as a stepping stone for other leagues to emulate.
But it also illustrates the need of working with and capitalizing Black-owned banks.
“Transacting meaningful deals with Black banks is one of those rare opportunities where good business is perfectly aligned with social welfare, because a robustly capitalized Black banking sector will chip away at America’s racial wealth and housing gaps by providing housing and small business loans to marginalized populations,” wrote Bernice King in a story for CNN
It’s crucial to understand that this is not a money-making deal for MLS. Instead, it serves as an example.
“MLS’ aspiration with this transaction is to demonstrate that this is possible,” said Winley. “That Black banks could compete.”
And that is what the Black community ultimately wants- an equal opportunity to compete.
Whether it’s on the pitch or at a local branch, Black businesses and individuals deserve the right to compete on a level playing field.
MLS provides their players that opportunity at stadiums across the country.
Now they’ve helped bring that opportunity to underserved communities across the country through this historic deal.
“I brought MLS and NBBF together because I saw an opportunity to create a partnership with the power to transform lives in Black communities and change hearts and minds throughout our nation,” said Bernice King. “This deal undoubtedly marks an important moment in the continuing struggle for civil rights in the United States.”
MLS continues to lead when it comes to diversity in sports, both on and off the field. That’s one of the reasons why NFL players like Mark Ingram, Patrick Mahomes, Russell Wilson and, most recently Derrick Henry, have joined MLS team ownership groups.
Through their Black bank partnership, the league has once again demonstrated its unified and proactive approach to affecting change for the Black community.
And for those keeping track, they scored again.
