Asian American Eugene Chung faced racist remarks as he interviewed for NFL coaching positions (Photo courtesy of ESPN).
The NFL has never been particularly gracious about the experience of minorities or worked very hard to remedy the discrimination that comes up. We will discuss how that has impacted the Asian American community within the league.
It’s important to use the heritage month of a particular race or ethnicity to celebrate NFL-affiliated individuals. It is also relevant to discuss the oppression of specific groups within the NFL to bring attention so that we can hold the NFL accountable. We can and should use our power as fans to address this type of behavior. We will discuss the experience of Eugene Chung this week with that goal in mind.
Eugene Chung’s Career As A Football Player
Football has never been kind to Eugene Chung. America in general has failed him, as he was bullied for being the only Asian American child growing up in school often.
Chung grew up in McLean, Virginia, to his father Choon, who was a lawyer, and his mother Mansook, who was a concert pianist and music teacher, before she passed away when Eugene was 11. Choon had experienced great adversity in Korea. He worked incredibly hard to create greater opportunities alongside Mansook for his family.
The future NFL player was one of four boys, and he was the second-youngest. His older brothers had followed in his parents footsteps, like Eugene planned on doing, pursuing law and becoming concert performers. Eugene Chung was raised with high self-esteem and a solid identity in his Asian American ancestry, like his other brothers.
High School
Life didn’t work out like that for Chung. His life trajectory would be basically unheard of as an Asian American child, especially in the 1970s when he was growing up. A sudden growth spurt left Chung 6 feet tall and 180 pounds in his freshman year of high school. He was perfect for football! However, football was not perfect to him.
In high school, Eugene used his new size to channel his emotions into football and knuckle sandwiches for racist kids who crossed the line. By the time he was a junior, Chung had colleges knocking at his door, trying to recruit him for college ball. His dad didn’t understand his son’s love for football, but he did understand free college, and that thrilled him. Football was now great to Mr. Chung.
The discrimination started as early as high school football-wise for Eugene, unfortunately. Fans would shout horrible things at Chung, and his opponents (coaches and players) would laugh at him and comment on an Asian American player being on the field. We know that Virginia was on the up and up for eye exams in the 1970s because it appeared everyone could see even if they couldn’t think.
His own coaching staff mocked him too, telling him things like he would never play Division 1 football because he was Asian American (he didn’t use those words). Another told him he would never gain weight if he ate with chop sticks. That doesn’t even make sense; if food goes into your body, the delivery system doesn’t matter. Not that that’s the most problematic part of that statement.
College
Korea was so excited about Eugene’s success. They sent down a reporter and camera crew from Seoul to cover his senior year in college. Korean newspapers in the DMV area would highlight Chung’s playing career too.
Chung was in high demand for college ball. He was an A-1 offensive lineman. Ultimately, Eugene chose to attend Virginia Tech. He would be named First-Team All-American as a Virginia Tech Hokie in 1991. Chung was elected to the Virginia Tech Sports Hall of Fame in 2008. Chung’s son, Kyle, also played for the Virginia Tech Hokies in college.
The NFL
Eugene Chung became the first Korean-American player to be drafted in the first round of the NFL. He was selected 13th overall by the New England Patriots in 1992. Chung was the second-ever Korean American player to play in the NFL. John Lee, a place kicker, played for one season with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1986.
Sadly, Choon Chung would never see his son play in the NFL. On the day that Choon was supposed to drive up to see him play, he never did. Eugene got an emergency message on his phone during the game. He called home and found out his father had passed away from a heart attack. Between that story and Puca Nacua’s story I wrote in honor of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month about his own father, you can’t help but let a few tears fall.
Chung started in 14 games in 1992, winning a place on the NFL’s All-Rookie Team. Eugene played three seasons with the Patriots. After that, he bounced around the league. Chung played for nine seasons with five different teams in total. Injuries piled up for Eugene, affecting his career and leading to his retirement in 2000 at 31.
The OL experienced significant racism even at the hands of his own coaches in the NFL as well, mostly through the form of “jokes.” Chung did enjoy sharing his Asian American heritage with other teammates, which he remembers fondly. He had his teammates take their shoes off before entering homes, cover their mouths when they drank around elders, and take them to taekwondo and Korean restaurants. He created many bulgogi fans.
The Transition to Coaching
Andy Reid is a sort of silent hero for combating racism throughout my articles, and this is another example. He extended an coaching internship in 2010 to Chung and was ready and willing to learn the intricacies of Korean-American culture. Again, we don’t want to hype people up for having a modicum of humanity; however, in a racist sport and league, Reid’s offering an opportunity was meaningful.
Eugene Chung worked with the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs under Andy Reid for six seasons, from 2010 to 2015, as an assistant offensive line coach. In 2016, Chung returned to the Eagles under their new head coach for four seasons as the tight ends coach, assistant offensive line coach, and run game coordinator.
The highlight, at least statistically, of Eugene Chung’s coaching career that ended in 2019 was when he coached the Super Bowl-winning Eagles in the 2017-2018 season. Talk about an Asian American contribution to the NFL! They had to keep him around in the league since he was so talented, right?
The NFL Has Failed Asian Americans
The hateful cherry on top of this racist sundae would be the experience that Eugene Chung had while attempting to interview for coaching gigs after he was let go by the Eagles in 2019. In an interview, a coach told him to his face that he was not the right kind of minority. The statement is as confusing as it is racist.
Your Roonie Rule obligations will still be met, buddy. Asian Americans are considered minorities statistically in the NFL. You sound like the rule was met for your coaching staff, Bud. We never did find out who the coaching staff member was, and Eugene Chung wasn’t interested in outing him either. That wasn’t the point for him.
He was quoted as saying, “when this came out, I was sharing my experience with other people, and growing up in this country as Asian American … as an Asian American player and coach in the league. I want to do this in a positive way and help other people.”
Continuing to Fail
Despite the NFL pretending to care, saying they would like to meet with Chung as of 2023, they never have. He was quoted as saying, “I’m disappointed with how they addressed all of it, or the lack thereof,” he said. “When I came into the league, I thought people in the league office got your back both as a player and coach, but that wasn’t the case with me.”
Obviously, the NFL had a great opportunity with Eugene Chung as a coach. He had a long career as a coach, and as an NFL player, he would have been an asset wherever he went. We only have one Asian American head coach, Robert Saleh (Lebanon is in West Asia). There are a handful of other coaching staff members who are Asian Americans, like Sean Desai (India is in South Asia), but they are few and far between.
We desperately need representation and viewpoints from everyone, since there are no “right” or “wrong” minorities in the NFL. Are Asian Americans not “the right fit” for the for the NFL? Is that how you feel? It’s not too late for the NFL to right their wrongs and bring back Chung. Get it together, National Football League!
