BEREA, Ohio — The first words that come to mind when you think of the Cleveland Browns might not be "diversity" or "inclusivity" amid the preparations for the 2022 season, the off-season roster changes, and the suspension of new quarterback Deshaun Watson. But through everything that the Browns organization has experienced over the past two years, those two words have always been top of mind for general manager Andrew Berry—and that hasn't changed.
Berry came into the Browns organization in 2020, the youngest general manager in NFL history at the age of 32, with a philosophy established through his journey to the top role.
"I feel very fortunate that I came up in the NFL through three separate organizations that I would consider very progressive and inclusive, starting off with Bill Polian in Indianapolis, and actually coming here the first time under under Sashi Brown, and then Philadelphia with with Howie Roseman," Berry said. "Really, those three leaders made a huge impact in terms of my professional experience, bringing in people with different backgrounds, different ideas, and making sure that they all had seats at the table."
The young GM had seen the teams he was working for place value on giving people opportunities that might not normally see them and vowed to continue that work if he ever got the chance.
"That's just a model that I saw throughout my career. And I always felt like it was good, not just because it was the right thing to do, but it helped make better decisions," Berry said. "So it was just something that I wanted to bring and emulate if I ever found myself in a leadership position or decision making decision."
And that he did. As the general manager of the Browns, Berry had a job to do: build a winning football team. But he tasked himself with something more.
"I would hope that as long as I'm fortunate enough to be in a leadership position, you can do more good than just try and build a good football team. But I think that's something that really only time will tell and really how lasting [the] impact can be," Berry said.
His first go at making a lasting impact came very early into his tenure as the Browns GM, in the wake of the George Floyd protests and social justice movement that swept the country in the summer of 2020. The conversations about race and equality not only reflected many of his players, but reflected himself and reflected his family.
That prompted an email that would become an initiative the organization rallied around. Berry voiced his feelings about the matter and pledged to donate a large sum of money to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund if at least 50 Browns employees took action to learn about diversity and participate in social activism. The response was bigger than he could have imagined.
"For me, it was just kind of one of those moments that [I] experienced something that was probably a little bit bigger than football. And for me it was just a way, an outlet, really, just to convey some of my beliefs on the personal level and my beliefs in terms of ways where we can use our platform to do some some real good and some real change."
After he hit his 50 employee threshold by the end of the day, the importance of his ask was made clear, and his initiative was made public. The Browns organization launched the Be The Solution campaign, and in less than a month raised nearly $200,000 for more than a dozen charities.
Giving back to organizations was important to Berry, but creating lasting change in his own organization was the next big goal. After Berry and head coach Kevin Stefanski talked about what change they wanted to instill in the organization, a fellowship was created to reach a shared goal— The Bill Willis Coaching Fellowship, given to a rising minority coach with a focus on the offensive side of the ball.
"That was something that was really important at the time that Kevin got hired, really to the both of us. We really believe in having diverse perspectives, diverse staff and and specifically, it was important for him to get more minority coaches exposure to the offensive side of the ball," Berry said. "We gave a lot of thought to it. We created the fellowship. Ashton Grant was our first Bill Willis fellow. Israel Woolfork, he's our second."
The two coaches granted an opportunity that is unfortunately uncommon amid the NFL. Learning and working at the highest level of the game, providing them a platform to launch careers and find success.
"We've seen those guys continue to grow in our organization. And we're certainly hopeful that they'll be here for a long time and then certainly spread their wings. And who knows, 10 years from now we're seeing them running their own NFL teams," Berry said.
Berry knows that is a possibility because he's been able to help make that happen for staff off the field—continuing the push for inclusion and opportunities for people of all backgrounds in his front office. From Glenn Cook, who is now the assistant GM under Berry, to former Browns Vice President of Football Operations Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, who was hired as the Vikings GM in January, a culture of promoting diversity has given people real chances to flourish.
"It's been incredibly rewarding, and I would say honestly that's probably one of the most rewarding parts of the job—having an opportunity to pay it forward, so to speak, because I had such great mentors that didn't judge me by my age and judge me by my idiosyncrasies—that gave me opportunities," Berry explained. "To see Kwesi kind of start here and advance. And hopefully we see that with with Glenn and Catherine [Raiche] as well. It's it's awesome. It's really cool."
Berry mentioned Raiche—highlighting another area he has worked to create inclusivity in. The Browns boast some of the highest ranking females in their positions in the NFL. As assistant GM and vice president of football operations, Raiche is the highest ranked female NFL executive. Chief of Staff and assistant wide receivers coach Callie Brownson was the first woman to coach a position group in a regular season game. Player Personnel Coordinator Megan Rock serves as Berry’s right hand during the draft and free agency. The organization has been a cornerstone for hiring women.
"It's so interesting because I think the NFL as a whole is making real significant progress there, and that's a good thing. But at the same time, I don't know any other industry where that should be or truly is a story because there are a lot of talented individuals that can work in an NFL front office or an NFL coaching staff," Berry said. "And no different than players, I don't know why you would want to limit the option to find really, really good people."
The Browns have found those good people and have put in work to foster those opportunities, which is something Berry hopes is the start of something league wide.
"Look, the NFL's not all the way there yet, but I'm thankful that perhaps the gender bias is starting to starting to erode from the NFL fabric," Berry said. "I think to women specifically in the organization, whether it's a different demographic or a different experience or a different way of thinking across these different groups, we bring them in because we want our blind spots to be covered. We want different perspectives. And that's that's a big part of it for us."
But on the topic of women in the organization, a point had to be addressed. Quarterback Deshaun Watson, who the Browns traded for in March, probably has many people reading the cultural deep dive questioning everything to this point. With the allegations of sexual misconduct against Watson known at the time the Browns pushed so hard for him, it's impossible not to ask.
"Now, people are going to watch this and they're going to say, well, this is the culture that you created—but where does this fit in? With everything going on, where does the culture stand in terms of diversity and inclusion and those conversations?"
Berry answered similar to how he did when asked about women being involved in the conversations leading up to the trade for Watson but shed some more light on how the voices of women were valued—and remain valued—in the acquisition of the controversial quarterback.
"Regardless of how the how the team does on the field or the roster decisions that we make—specific to the trade, as I mentioned at the time, it's not just bringing different perspectives to the table when it's convenient or a low leverage decision or transaction, but certainly something that's significant of that you want to have really as many informed perspectives in the room as you can," Berry said. "We operated no differently in that circumstance. So there was really both professional and personal perspective before the trade. And that's a way that we'll continue to operate moving forward."
Those conversations are ongoing with the organization in terms of allowing all of the employees—women, minorities, people from different backgrounds—to continue voicing their opinions, coming forward with concerns, and allowing them to feel included, heard and valued.
Berry, answering the next question measured and sure yet still personable, knows very well that the things that transpired this off-season have caused some fans to question the efforts the organization, and he himself, have taken.
[Can the fans] watch your growth and continue to feel confident that you guys are doing something good here?
"I think every leader, decision-maker's journey, none of them are linear. There are going to be things that people agree with and cheer with and things that people don't think are necessarily the right decision," Berry said. "But at the same time, as we look at over a longer time horizon, at the end of the day will make the decisions that we think are best for the organization. And a big part of that is is certainly how the organization represents to the fan base and community."
He hopes that through it all—with a big picture outlook on things that have been happening far beyond the past five months—those fans can continue, or get back to, seeing that work being done and in turn be proud of the team they cheer for each week.
"I think that our hope and our vision of this is—as we continue to make decisions, as we continue to bring people in, and as people continue to gain a daily exposure to our guys—over the long run, they'll feel good about the team that we have in place to represent the community," Berry said.
For more on this one-on-one interview with General Manager Andrew Berry, watch News 5 in the Browns post-game show Saturday evening just after the final preseason game against Bears at FirstEnergy Stadium.
Camryn Justice is a reporter at News 5 Cleveland. Follow her on Twitter @camijustice.
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