Buffalo Bills hire Sophia Lewin as offensive assistant

[Arm of Harm]

On 5/22/2021 at 11:06 AM, Bobby Hooks said:

I’m sure you didn’t know everything about all of the players we drafted this year. Instead of looking them up and finding out more information did you just grade them 1-10 on the hotness scale? 

Not judging, but following your logic that’s a perfectly reasonable thing to do if you don’t know anything about them. 

Where did Wildgoose rank? 

 

I have a female cousin who is not interested in football. One time there was a Bills game on, and she remarked that Drew Bledsoe was very handsome. At the time, I thought that was a perfectly normal and reasonable thing for her to say. Was I wrong? Should I have engaged in a similar shaming effort to what we've witnessed in this thread? Or is it only wrong and shameful for men to comment on the physical appearance of a woman involved in football, but not wrong or shameful for a woman to comment on the physical appearance of a man involved with the sport?

 

[Jauronimo]

10 minutes ago, Arm of Harm said:

 

I have a female cousin who is not interested in football. One time there was a Bills game on, and she remarked that Drew Bledsoe was very handsome. At the time, I thought that was a perfectly normal and reasonable thing for her to say. Was I wrong? Should I have engaged in a similar shaming effort to what we've witnessed in this thread? Or is it only wrong and shameful for men to comment on the physical appearance of a woman involved in football, but not wrong or shameful for a woman to comment on the physical appearance of a man involved with the sport?

 

Well, that depends.  What does your cousin look like?  Would I find her hot or side hug material? Pics?

Edited May 26, 2021 by Jauronimo

[Bob in STL]

On 5/21/2021 at 10:16 AM, Arm of Harm said:

McDermott may not care about her gender, but Kim Pegula does. 
 

I personally believe that the best, most capable candidate should be chosen, regardless of gender. If she is better or more capable than the best male candidate considered, great! If on the other hand she is less capable than the best male they interviewed, but was chosen anyway due to Kim’s involvement, I would be disappointed. 

I have done lots of hiring and recruiting.  You almost never know if you have hired the exact best, especially for an entry level position, which this one is. 
 

Typically for an entry level position,  you are happy when you have a pool with several candidates that are all qualified.  Then you look can look beyond the basic job requirements and into what else they bring.  Yes, diversity is something that you look for.  To accept this you have to understand the benefits that diversity brings to an organization. 
 

 

Edited May 26, 2021 by Bob in STL

[Hapless Bills Fan]

34 minutes ago, Bob in STL said:

I have done lots of hiring and recruiting.  You almost never know if you have hired the exact best, especially for an entry level position, which this one is. 
 

Typically for an entry level position,  you are happy when you have a pool with several candidates that are all qualified.  Then you look can look beyond the basic job requirements and into what else they bring.  Yes, diversity is something that you look for.  To accept this you have to understand the benefits that diversity brings to an organization.

 

More on this point.  When I was in a hiring position, we would frequently have temporary workers and interns.  The ones to whom we offered permanent positions when they graduated or when their temp contract was up, were invariably the ones we thought highly of, the ones where we liked their work.

 

Well, this young woman had an internship with the Bills last summer, so presumably the same applies.  They liked her work and know (based on actual job performance last summer) she is capable of doing the job and fitting in with the culture.

[DJB]

As long as Sophia was the best candidate for the position that's all that matters. 

 

If the hire was based off some sort of me too movement than I'm not supportive of the hire

[ColoradoBills]

4 hours ago, Bob in STL said:

I have done lots of hiring and recruiting.  You almost never know if you have hired the exact best, especially for an entry level position, which this one is. 
 

Typically for an entry level position,  you are happy when you have a pool with several candidates that are all qualified.  Then you look can look beyond the basic job requirements and into what else they bring.  Yes, diversity is something that you look for.  To accept this you have to understand the benefits that diversity brings to an organization. 
 

 

 

She seems like an interesting candidate.

 

https://www.monmouth.edu/magazine/changing-the-face-of-football/ 

[Arm of Harm]

4 hours ago, Bob in STL said:

I have done lots of hiring and recruiting.  You almost never know if you have hired the exact best, especially for an entry level position, which this one is. 
 

Typically for an entry level position,  you are happy when you have a pool with several candidates that are all qualified.  Then you look can look beyond the basic job requirements and into what else they bring.  Yes, diversity is something that you look for.  To accept this you have to understand the benefits that diversity brings to an organization. 
 

 

 

Diversity as a religion is rather unique to Western nations. Asian nations do not celebrate the reduction of the percentage of Asian males, Sub-Saharan African nations do not celebrate the reduction of the percentage of black males, Middle Eastern nations do not celebrate the reduction of percentage of Middle Eastern males.

 

Maybe in the future that will change. Maybe at some point, the rest of the world will be so in awe of the benefits Western nations have received from embracing diversity, that they'll feel compelled to embrace that same religion. Or maybe they'll embrace it anyway, even if a case for benefits cannot be made. Time will tell, but for now the religion is regional, not global.

 

I suppose that my own view--that hiring should be done on the basis of merit or ability--might also be considered religious, or at least normative. But at least there, there's a fairly obvious connection between profit (if a typical corporation) or winning (if a football team).

[ColoradoBills]

6 minutes ago, Arm of Harm said:

I suppose that my own view--that hiring should be done on the basis of merit or ability--might also be considered religious, or at least normative. But at least there, there's a fairly obvious connection between profit (if a typical corporation) or winning (if a football team).

 

She is filling an entry level position and has already interned with the team.  She has been involved in football since High School.

I truly don't get what you are talking about. 

[Arm of Harm]

5 minutes ago, ColoradoBills said:

 

She is filling an entry level position and has already interned with the team.  She has been involved in football since High School.

I truly don't get what you are talking about. 

 

The specific concern in this instance is Kim Pegula's involvement. Kim has stated that she wants to see an increase in diversity, and it's clear she believes that's an end in itself. If as co-owner she influenced McDermott to hire someone in part on the basis of gender, that would be a concern. Not because I'm overly worried about whether this team does or doesn't have the very best possible offensive assistant, but rather because of the influence Kim might exert in the future.

 

If Kim hadn't been involved, or if she didn't have a stated desire to "promote diversity," I wouldn't be concerned. Suppose Kim had said, "We want to hire the very best, most capable candidate for every open position. Sometimes a candidate might be overlooked due to being female. We believe that including females in our applicant pool is an important part of finding the most capable candidates we can." A statement along those lines would have been non-threatening. Unfortunately, that's not what she actually said.

[GoBills808]

12 minutes ago, Arm of Harm said:

 

Diversity as a religion is rather unique to Western nations. Asian nations do not celebrate the reduction of the percentage of Asian males, Sub-Saharan African nations do not celebrate the reduction of the percentage of black males, Middle Eastern nations do not celebrate the reduction of percentage of Middle Eastern males.

 

Maybe in the future that will change. Maybe at some point, the rest of the world will be so in awe of the benefits Western nations have received from embracing diversity, that they'll feel compelled to embrace that same religion. Or maybe they'll embrace it anyway, even if a case for benefits cannot be made. Time will tell, but for now the religion is regional, not global.

 

I suppose that my own view--that hiring should be done on the basis of merit or ability--might also be considered religious, or at least normative. But at least there, there's a fairly obvious connection between profit (if a typical corporation) or winning (if a football team).

You have no concept of what you're trying to talk about. This research was done several decades ago informed by policy from all over the world: stop thinking so hard.

 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2019/09/13/the-benefits-of-cultural-diversity-in-the-workplace/?sh=299e4bda71c0

[ColoradoBills]

6 minutes ago, Arm of Harm said:

The specific concern in this instance is Kim Pegula's involvement. Kim has stated that she wants to see an increase in diversity, and it's clear she believes that's an end in itself. If as co-owner she influenced McDermott to hire someone in part on the basis of gender, that would be a concern. Not because I'm overly worried about whether this team does or doesn't have the very best possible offensive assistant, but rather because of the influence Kim might exert in the future.

 

If you want to be concerned about what might happen in the future it's your prerogative.  The current hire looks "qualified" to me.

IF in the future Kim Pegula makes McDermott hire one of her girlfriends as the Offensive Coordinator I too will be concerned.

 

In the meantime I wish Sophia Lewin good luck in her new job.

[Jauronimo]

21 minutes ago, Arm of Harm said:

 

The specific concern in this instance is Kim Pegula's involvement. Kim has stated that she wants to see an increase in diversity, and it's clear she believes that's an end in itself. If as co-owner she influenced McDermott to hire someone in part on the basis of gender, that would be a concern. Not because I'm overly worried about whether this team does or doesn't have the very best possible offensive assistant, but rather because of the influence Kim might exert in the future.

 

If Kim hadn't been involved, or if she didn't have a stated desire to "promote diversity," I wouldn't be concerned. Suppose Kim had said, "We want to hire the very best, most capable candidate for every open position. Sometimes a candidate might be overlooked due to being female. We believe that including females in our applicant pool is an important part of finding the most capable candidates we can." A statement along those lines would have been non-threatening. Unfortunately, that's not what she actually said.

I'm heart broken for the son, nephew, or family friend of a coach/coordinator who would usually get that entry level position based on merit and outraged that some woman who isn't even hot was just gifted the job based on her prior football experience and role with the team last year.

[Arm of Harm]

24 minutes ago, GoBills808 said:

You have no concept of what you're trying to talk about. This research was done several decades ago informed by policy from all over the world: stop thinking so hard.

 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2019/09/13/the-benefits-of-cultural-diversity-in-the-workplace/?sh=299e4bda71c0

 

I read the article you provided. It contained no quantitative data about productivity rates in diverse workplaces, compared to productivity in more homogeneous work environments. The only quantitative data of any kind it provided were survey data of board members, the majority of whom stated they believed in the benefits of diversity. Those data are unsurprising, considering that diversity is a core religious value of the Western corporate world. Were you to survey the boards of Chinese, Japanese, or other non-Western corporations, you'd likely see very different results. To determine which culture's view of diversity is correct (from a corporate, profit and loss perspective), you'd need quantitative data about productivity in diverse versus non-diverse workplaces. It is precisely those data which are conspicuously absent from the article to which you linked.

 

[GoBills808]

10 minutes ago, Arm of Harm said:

 

I read the article you provided. It contained no quantitative data about productivity rates in diverse workplaces, compared to productivity in more homogeneous work environments. The only quantitative data of any kind it provided were survey data of board members, the majority of whom stated they believed in the benefits of diversity. Those data are unsurprising, considering that diversity is a core religious value of the Western corporate world. Were you to survey the boards of Chinese, Japanese, or other non-Western corporations, you'd likely see very different results. To determine which culture's view of diversity is correct (from a corporate, profit and loss perspective), you'd need quantitative data about productivity in diverse versus non-diverse workplaces. It is precisely those data which are conspicuously absent from the article to which you linked.

 

https://www.bcg.com/en-us/publications/2018/how-diverse-leadership-teams-boost-innovation
 

https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/organization/our-insights/why-diversity-matters#
 

There is a ton of research available. 

[Don Otreply]

1 hour ago, ColoradoBills said:

 

She is filling an entry level position and has already interned with the team.  She has been involved in football since High School.

I truly don't get what you are talking about. 

It is kinda funny that so many men are so easily intimidated by the presence of women in non traditional roles..., 

[Bobby Hooks]

15 hours ago, Arm of Harm said:

 

I have a female cousin who is not interested in football. One time there was a Bills game on, and she remarked that Drew Bledsoe was very handsome. At the time, I thought that was a perfectly normal and reasonable thing for her to say. Was I wrong? Should I have engaged in a similar shaming effort to what we've witnessed in this thread? Or is it only wrong and shameful for men to comment on the physical appearance of a woman involved in football, but not wrong or shameful for a woman to comment on the physical appearance of a man involved with the sport?

 

You sure you read my post? I was genuinely interested in how hot the they guy I was quoting found Wildgoose. 
 

Nah, not really, but it did find the premise very funny that if you don’t know anything about the person, to then immediately jump to how attractive you find them, “I don’t know who this Freud guy is, how does he look in skinny jeans?”

 

I stand by my observation. It wasn’t as much of a shaming exercise as you took it, but it does seem pretty childish. You disagree I guess, but before even opening the thread I knew I’d find an alarming number of adolescent responses from anonymous grown men frivolously throwing around how attractive they found her while hiding their beer bellies safely behind the keyboard. 
 

Just kind’ve does nothing for the image most people have of American football fans in general. Not a look I’m particularly proud of, but not so much for the sexism aspect, more for the un-evolved beer swilling jock vibes it gives off. 

Edited May 26, 2021 by Bobby Hooks