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#Post#: 25--------------------------------------------------
Bills, Sabres co-owner Kim Pegula: Impact of diversity felt
throughout organizations
DIR By: The Referee
Date: August 17, 2020, 8:35 pm
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Aug 14, 2020
Kim Pegula, with John Keim-
Buffalo Bills and Buffalo Sabres co-owner Kim Pegula has helped
build two teams and understands the role diversity plays in
shaping the future of an organization.
Pegula, 51, who was born in South Korea and adopted by an
American family, is the first female president of both an NHL
and NFL team. She's the president of Pegula Sports Entertainment
and a co-owner of both franchises with her husband, Terry, 69.
Because of this, Kim has a distinct voice in the NFL. She serves
on two NFL committees: business ventures, and Super Bowls and
major events.
She has helped oversee a turnaround by the Bills, who have two
playoff appearances in the past three seasons, and has also
faced criticism in her role with the small-market Sabres.
In the wake of a report by The Washington Post that revealed
allegations by 17 women of sexual harassment and verbal abuse
that left the Washington Football Team organization reeling,
ESPN sought perspective from prominent female executives within
the NFL.
In her own words, as relayed to ESPN's John Keim, these are
Pegula's thoughts on the importance of diversity and working to
improve an organization's culture, gleaned from her experience
with the Bills and Sabres:
Why diversity matters
When people ask me why diversity matters, I tell them to spend a
week with my husband and me. Terry and I are diverse in age (18
years), ethnicity (white/Asian) and a variety of other traits (I
like chocolate/he likes vanilla). But those differences, when
combined, are our biggest strength. They've gotten us through 27
years of marriage, raising three kids and leading multiple
businesses. It's served us well having two owners to look at
situations differently, hear different points of view and bring
different ideas to the table. Sometimes we arrive at the same
answer, sometimes we don't, and sometimes we are both wrong.
After all, no matter how diverse we are, we are both still
human.
During our last Bills coaching search [after the 2016 season],
when we interviewed Sean McDermott, Terry took notice that Sean
was a two-time National Prep School wrestling champion. To me it
was a nice anecdote, as I was not familiar with high school
wrestling. Terry said, "I don't care that it was back in high
school, if you have the discipline to be a champion wrestler at
any level, train and perform for what may amount to mere minutes
to an audience of probably just your mom and dad -- those traits
will serve you well as a coach." I would have missed that
perspective if Terry wasn't in the room.
Two owners of professional sports teams aren't what many would
think of as an example of "diversity," but I've come to
appreciate the impact that our unique version of diversity in
thought, experience, gender, race and age can have on an
organization.
I recently shared with our staff how we rate as a diverse
workforce and it was far from where I believe we should be.
While we have a lot of work ahead of us, we are taking
deliberate steps to be a better and more diverse organization.
We've started by listening to and learning from our Black
employees at staff-wide town halls and facilitating Diversity
and Inclusion Luncheons, seeking to create open dialogue across
our companies to empower our employees to change our process and
policies to better reflect our fan base and our country.
Diversity matters, quite simply, because the world we live in is
diverse. Our fans are diverse, our players are diverse, our
ownership is diverse, and we need that diversity of thought and
background reflected in our organizations as we try each day to
become better.
It starts at the top
We've all heard the phrase that culture starts at the top. I've
certainly seen how being both a minority and a female owner in
the NFL has positively affected the Bills. Before Terry and I
bought the team in 2014, there were 30 full-time female
employees of the Bills, and only three of them were in football.
Many of those positions were in administrative roles. Currently
the Bills have 50 full-time female employees, including five
full time and 10 interns on the football side, dedicated to
working directly with players in key roles. I can't take all
credit for the growth, but I do believe a female presence in
football meetings, representing the organization and being
visible as a key decision-maker, is beneficial.
But let's not forget that the men in our organization have to
play an important role in advancing women within predominantly
male industries. At the Bills, it started with Terry encouraging
me to participate in football meetings -- from postgame
discussions, to draft interviews and scouting meetings. It's
continued with our head coaches, who have consistently provided
opportunities to women in coaching like Kathryn Smith [in 2016
with Buffalo she became the first woman to serve as a full-time
NFL assistant], Phoebe Schecter [a full-season intern] and
Callie Brownson [now chief of staff for the Cleveland Browns].
Now women are a part of the equipment staff, sports performance,
athletic training, nutrition, player development and player
personnel departments. I like to think that including women
across all areas of football has made it feel like more of the
norm than the exception to our players and staff.
The league has also added the support that helped bring women to
build our team. The NFL has a champion in Samantha Rapoport, who
in her role as senior director of diversity and inclusion for
the league has been instrumental in connecting women whose
passion is to work in football with clubs looking to add skilled
women to their staff. The NFL Women's Careers in Football Forum
at the NFL combine was one of her initiatives that connected
coaches and GMs across the league with women looking for face
time with key decision-makers. I had an opportunity to speak
with these women this past year, along with Tampa Bay Buccaneers
owner Darcie Glazer Kassewitz. The women wanted to know, "How do
I get my foot in the door?" My advice to them was to build
relationships and networks, not just with women but also with
men and to make the most of opportunities such as this forum.
While there is still a lot of room for improvement, I'm
encouraged to see the progress women have made in football. In
the four years since the forum began, 97 women earned
opportunities with the NFL, college football and the Alliance of
American Football as a direct result. This is proof that when
ownership, club executives and the league work together with
focused intention, real advancement can be made.
It's the little things
My experiences in a male-dominated sport have been wonderful,
for the most part. But there are moments that have been -- let's
say -- unique. I've been mistaken a few times for a fan or a
game-day worker, having been questioned and asked for my ID or
credential in team areas -- and I'm guessing it's because I
don't look like a typical NFL owner. I think about the times I
have been labeled as the "black widow" when changes were made in
our organizations. Yet Terry was right there making the same
decisions with me, but he has never had such a negative
accusatory label attached to his name.
"Our fans are diverse, our players are diverse, our ownership is
diverse, and we need that diversity of thought and background
reflected in our organizations as we try each day to become
better."
Kim Pegula, co-owner of the Bills and Sabres
Last year at this time, the Bills went to South Carolina for a
joint training camp practice with the Carolina Panthers. I asked
all the women working camp to join me at a local establishment.
I wanted to make sure that we were supporting them as an
organization and wanted to pick their brain on how we could be
better in that effort. I knew my experience in an ownership role
was going to be different than the experiences other women had
at the club.
One of the key trends I heard that night was that women working
in a predominantly male environment just wanted their work and
effort to be seen as more important than their gender. They
noted that it can be scary being one of the few women in the
room, especially for new interns on their first day, but seeing
other women in the room and being warmly welcomed by the club --
specifically the football department -- helped ease their
nervousness and made them feel accepted.
That night, I often heard it was about the little things. They
expressed that they did not know how to dress for away games
because the team travel memo only outlined a dress code for men,
but that it wasn't a big issue and they were embarrassed to even
bring it up. After we returned to Buffalo, I brought this to the
football staff's attention and it quickly got resolved. It
wasn't an intentional exclusion, it just hadn't been thought of.
It wasn't a big change, or one that took much effort, but it
went far to acknowledge and accept women as part of the team.
When I asked a current second-year intern what challenges she
faced working in football, she said, "How to adapt my approach
to so many different players in one setting." This is the same
answer I have heard from many other men, some who have been
coaches for a long time, so I know that in many ways we're not
so different after all.
People forget that football as we know it is not just about the
X's and O's. It takes multiple groups of people on and off the
field to put on a game that millions watch each week. So there
is plenty of room and roles left to welcome more diversity into
the football family, and I'm encouraged by where we're headed.
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