The Plight Of The Black Quarterback

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Final Paper: The Plight of the Black Quarterback The plight of athletes of color in American sports has been a well-documented and heavily conversed issue throughout society. Our treatment of these athletes was unwarranted, unfair and unacceptable, but all of that seemed to be over with pioneers such as Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier in the early 20th century and finally bringing athletes of color to the same playing field as their white counterparts. Today, we proudly proclaim that our major American sports are completely void of all stereotyping and racism that plagued them in their infancy. It is obvious that this is not true with various examples such as the Donald Sterling incident showing that there are some whimpers of outright racism remaining, but there also may be be an issue that is much more widespread than we realize. A phenomenon we now call “unconscious racism” explains that in modern society we have effectively internalized our racist rhetoric to the point where it is now subtle and almost second nature. This is especially clear in the National Football League in the treatment of black quarterbacks. These quarterbacks are subjected to harsher and often more unfair scrutiny than their white counterparts, despite their similar production, as a result this new breed of subconscious racism. When identifying the discrimination against black quarterbacks in the NFL, it is important to first view their (short & limited) history in the NFL. In 1946, the Los Angeles Rams signed running back Kenny Washington (who was teammates with Jackie Robinson on UCLA’s baseball and football team) and broke the color barrier in the NFL. (Rank, 2012) This historic occasion, which coincidentally is largely ignored in mainst... ... middle of paper ... ...ct that these players perform almost identically to their white counterparts when given the chance shows that there are discriminatory ulterior motives behind why there are so few quarterbacks of color in the NFL. These motives reside in the modern evolution of racism known as “unconscious racism” in that it is not overt, but lies in the way we describe these different types of players. Calling a black quarterback “gifted” but a white quarterback “witty” is a textbook example among many of this new form of racism. Some pioneers such as James Harris, Warren Moon and Doug Williams, have managed to break free from this stereotyping and find glory in the NFL, but until this unconscious racism ends, and the perception of these players shifts, the black quarterback will continue to be discriminated against and held back in the modern National Football League and society.

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