The NFL Has a Race Problem (Duh)
If the title of this article is something that surprises you, then you simply haven’t been paying attention. While many certainly may believe that sports are immune from the racial politics that permeate society at large, that’s just not true.
We’re about to kick off the third week of the NFL preseason tonight. That means there’s been two full weeks of tape to analyze and plays to study at every position. There’s one position I want to look at (I’m sure you know where I’m going with this). So let’s look at the tape, shall we?
Exhibit A:
Exhibit B:
Conclusion: Blake Bortles is a pretty bad quarterback. You know who’s not a bad quarterback?
Colin Kaepernick.
Rather than give Colin a ring since he’s still a free agent ready and willing to be signed, the Jaguars decided to give their other quarterback, Chad Henne, a try. While not as a bad as Bortles, he was Jacksonville’s second choice after Bortles nonetheless.
The fact that teams still continue to shy away from Kaepernick is mind-blowing at this point. No longer can you tell me that this is a football decision. You’ve got a guy out there throwing passes that would make me look good, and Kaepernick is still jobless. This is 100% an issue of what Kaepernick stands for.
He stood up for a racial issue that, especially in light of the events from the last couple weeks, people don’t want to talk about. Especially white people.
Kaepernick is bringing up issues that puncture the bubble that many have on their view of the world. While that bubble should certainly be shrinking these days, there’s no doubt that the bubble exists.
Now, you may still believe this whole situation doesn’t boil down to a race problem in the NFL. You may still think that it’s because it’s a “right idea, wrong place” kind of thing. That what Kaepernick is doing, while admirable, has no place in his workplace.
That’s certainly a thought that unnamed executives had when asked about Kaepernick for a story on ESPN this week. One exec had the following to say on the issue:
“It is really not about his ability,” an exec said. “It’s about the risk of what happens to the team concept when you sign a guy — a quarterback — who has put his personal agenda ahead of what we are all charged to do, which is put the team first. As a team builder, I cannot risk that happening again, especially for a borderline starter who needs the entire offense catered to his style.
“Tom Brady or Philip Rivers would never consider making a stand on something like that, and it’s just because it’s not the place. I don’t disparage what he did. I understand and I’m all for people standing up for a cause, just not while they’re at work.”
Notice that two very white quarterbacks were mentioned as people who wouldn’t do this sort of thing. The problem with this statement is that it isn’t entirely true.
Tom Brady is a known Trump supporter. How do we know this?
Yes, that is one of Trump’s infamous campaign hats in Tom Brady’s locker. Brady has also said during interviews that Trump was a “good friend” of his.
What this tells me is that you can be vocal about your support on certain politic issues provided you have the right skin color. So it was basically a double whammy that Kaepernick is bringing up racial injustices about blacks while being black himself.
This race problem doesn’t start and end with Kaepernick’s issues, however.
ESPN came out with their annual QB tier rankings this week, and there was a glaring problem with it.
Sure, talent should be an overriding factor in any such ranking. But, of course, that’s not really the case in practice.
I realize that there are fewer minority quarterbacks in the NFL than there are white ones. I know this. But let me give you one name.
Russell Wilson.
Full disclosure: I’m a die-hard Seahawks fan. So I may have some bias on the issue. But facts are facts.
Wilson was listed 10th in this ranking, which puts him just inside Tier 2. Ahead of him? The likes of Matthew Stafford (never won a playoff game), Derek Carr (new hotshot for the Raiders, who has also never won a playoff game), and even Andrew Luck (the number one seed who hasn’t really ever put up the stats to match his draft placement).
One thing all those players have in common? You guessed it. They’re all white.
One other thing they all have in common? Stats that pale in comparison to Wilson’s. First and foremost, Wilson won a Super Bowl in his second season. He tied Peyton Manning’s record for touchdowns as a rookie with 26. He led the league in passer rating in 2015. He owns an overall passer rating of 99.6 in his career, which is second all-time behind Aaron Rodgers, who is one of the best quarterbacks of all time and a lock for the Hall of Fame when he hangs up the cleats.
Matthew Stafford? 86.8 passer rating for 23rd. Derek Carr? 87.9 for 19th (although he did have a career year at 96.7 last season). Andrew Luck? 87.3 for 22nd.
Now I also realize that passer rating isn’t the most precise stat to measure quarterbacks, but the bottom line is still the same. Wilson has outperformed all three of those quarterbacks but is still seen lower on the scale.
It’s simply an unwritten, unspoken hindrance that black players have to deal with. Especially at the position of quarterback. This position is one that has been dominated by white guys for basically the entire life of the NFL. Only six black quarterbacks have ever played in a Super Bowl, with just two winning it all.
I don’t pretend to know what it will take to get NFL executives and scouts to take black players, and especially black quarterbacks, seriously.
The fact that white players are now stepping up in protest along with black players during the national anthem is certainly a start. The more they do it, the less of problem teams may have with having a player like Kaepernick on their team.
Even if that particular issue gets covered, however, that won’t solve the problem that he and players like Wilson will face in terms of downplaying their abilities.
So yeah, the NFL has a race problem. Until this can be admitted and really brought out into the open, we can never hope to fix it.