The Arena Football League is back, and commissioner Lee A. Hutton has been at the forefront of this revival. As the first Black commissioner of a US sports league, he has faced numerous challenges and skepticism. However, Hutton’s focus has always been on delivering a product that fans love-good football.
Hutton spoke with rolling out about the AFL, revamping the league, and what being the first Black commissioner means to him.
What did it take for you to get the league back to its former state and improve it?
First of all, you have to have endurance. This is a marathon race. The second thing [that was important] is to make sure you surround yourself with a bunch of cheerleaders, people who are going to cheer on your success and not bring up the dark cloud that has always existed with a project of this magnitude. [We’ve] done that. Lastly, it’s just listening to people [with] a vested interest in the arena football coming back, and that’s coming in different forms. Historically, [40- to 60-year-old men] who watched football were [prime] targets of the demographics for arena football, but the world has changed. Now, [more] than 50% of your fans [playing] and watching football are female. The younger audience is starting to appeal to this different [style] of play. So, [being] able to put in an entertaining product that communicates differently with [other] people but gets the same satisfaction has been rewarding.
What does being the first Black commissioner of a United States sports league mean to you?
[Some days], the support has not always been “cheerleader.” The support has been somewhat “I’m praying for your downfall” in so many words because of what I look like in this position, but I have to be the first one to lead the pathway. To be [honest, I’ve pulled] my experiences and been able to walk the talk from others who probably don’t even know that I’ve claimed them as mentors like Barack Obama. Just the people who’ve walked down that yellow brick road and have done it with grace and class and have been called the first and have come out the rear door going through the front door and just looked back and say, “Look what you’ve done for all these people.” That’s been [the responsibility] that I never wanted myself to forget.
How should people in your position think to have the success that you’ve had?
Number one, you have to listen to your gut. There are a lot of naysayers out there that are always giving false challenges. [The] normal human reaction is to swallow that and determine whether that’s true. You have to do your own personal heat check, no matter how successful you’ve been. I’ve always had to remind myself that I have to be focused on the vision. [I’ve] been around long enough to take the criticism as it comes and use the criticism as fuel to lead my direction. You have to walk with blinders, but also [be able to use] that criticism as fuel. [You] learn to decide who to keep inside in those moments. Sometimes, you go through life and [know which friends are your friends and who aren’t]. I’ve gotten really good at doing that.
