Chairman and CEO Jeffrey Lurie was honored with the Paul "Tank" Younger Award at the Fritz Pollard Alliance's 15th annual reception and awards ceremony in Indianapolis. Howie Roseman and Doug Pederson accepted the award on his behalf.
The award is named after Paul "Tank" Younger, the first minority executive in the National Football League. Younger, who earned All-America honors at Grambling, had a successful NFL career with the Los Angeles Rams and Pittsburgh Steelers earning Pro Bowl honors five times in the 1950s.
He also became the first African-American player to play in an NFL all-star game and went on to become the league's first minority assistant general manager and front office executive. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2000.
"It is a tremendous honor to be recognized as this year's recipient of the Paul "Tank" Younger Award," Lurie said. "The Fritz Pollard Alliance is doing excellent work promoting diversity and equality in the NFL which is something I feel strongly about as an individual and the Philadelphia Eagles feel strongly about as an organization. Thank you for the work that you are doing. We are inspired by your efforts and fortunate to be recognized by a foundation whose values align so closely with ours.
"Football is the ultimate team game and also the ultimate unifier, uniting people from all different backgrounds for a common goal - players, coaches, front office, and even fans. At a time in our country when we are experiencing such harsh polarization, we need to continue to use our platform to showcase this unity to others.
"Paul Younger was a trailblazer and we need to continue to create more opportunities for men and women to follow in his footsteps. The Fritz Pollard Alliance is making excellent strides in this area and it is on all of us to make sure we are doing the same."
The Fritz Pollard Alliance is a not-for-profit membership organization. The Alliance promotes diversity and equality of job opportunity for minority coaches, scouting staff, and front office personnel within the NFL. In 2003, the Alliance established the Rooney Rule, which has helped diversify the league's coaching and front office ranks over the years.
