• by Ray Schultz , February 2, 2023

The Athletic is launching a five-part podcast miniseries that delves into the experience of being Black in the NFL.  

The series, titled Between the Lines, is being hosted by 

Tashan Reed, a staff writer for The Athletic who covers the Las Vegas Raiders.  

Reed interviews more than two dozen current and former N.F.L. players, coaches and executives to discuss their experience in an organization that has failed to support or promote diversity, The Athletic says.

The roster includes coaches who have quit their jobs due to a lack of advancement and players who have feared to speak out.

“Through several revealing and emotional interviews, Tashan takes listeners deep inside the N.F.L. and the diversity issues it grapples with,” states Mike Smeltz, The Athletic’s executive producer of narrative podcasts. 

Smeltz continues, “Tashan imbues the series with his own life experiences, making ‘Between the Lines’ a unique and essential listen for football fans.” 

The series was created over a period of 16 months.

“The N.F.L. is far from the only entity with a diversity problem — the media industry is another prime example — but it’s one of the most successful, prominent and influential businesses in America,” states Tashan.  

Tashan adds that if the NFL allows the issue to persist, “it’s culpable in helping maintain the structure of systemic racism, discrimination and oppression that’s held this country in its grip for centuries.