Considering the history of Black quarterbacks, are they not enough of an underdog?
After Fritz Pollard, the first Black quarterback in football history, came a ban on Black players by the NFL from 1933 to 1946. When the NFL reintegrated in 1946, the prevailing assumption was that Black athletes weren’t intelligent enough to play quarterback. Whites even assumed that Black players lacked the physical stamina and emotional courage to excel at contact sports like boxing and football.
As a result, a sorting process of “racial stacking” funneled Black players into certain positions based on stereotypes, a strategy the NFL relies upon to determine the “ideal player” for each position.
Organizational decision-makers, not limited to the NFL, rely on cultural schemas—based on racial ideologies regarding skill, ability, and competence and map these onto the characteristics of the job-specific “ideal worker”—to imagine the ideal incumbent for each position.
That explains why former NFL MVP Lamar Jackson was infamously recommended by some to make the move from QB to wide receiver.
And despite being on a Super Bowl and MVP trajectory, some still doubt his quarterback talents, referring to him as being an athlete but not “quarterbacky” enough.
It explains the casual disrespect of Black quarterbacks that continues to exist.
From the illegitimate benching of Russell Wilson by the Denver Broncos reportedly after Wilson’s refusal to amend his contract to dismissing former NFL MVP Cam Newton’s commentary on game manager quarterbacks, the tone always remains.
It explains why Bill O’Brien told Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe he shouldn’t be a quarterback.
This is why Philadelphians, who have a spotted history regarding race and sports, should be aware of underestimating and undervaluing Black quarterbacks.
Despite Randall Cunningham—my favorite player growing up—being the ultimate weapon, he wasn’t embraced by the city. Eagles aficionados openly questioned his decision-making. Donovan McNabb was booed when drafted and Rush Limbaugh, known for being racist, said McNabb received undeserved credit for taking the Eagles to the Super Bowl because of the media’s desire that Black quarterbacks play well.
After being released from prison, the Eagles signed Michael Vick. The extreme reaction to Vick’s wrongdoing was not simply about moral righteousness, but about racists having the chance to exercise their prejudices out in the open. His on-the-field abilities were never a question, although some tried to convince us Kevin Kolb was the second coming.
Jalen Hurts is the most recent Black Eagles QB to have his potential questioned. Despite his early success at Alabama and being a Heisman finalist at Oklahoma, his pedigree and abilities were doubted.
Derrick Gunn hinted that Eagles insiders were “not very comfortable” with him and mused about “what his ceiling is” and whether “he’s already closer to reaching it than most would like to admit.” Carson Wentz was preferred. Even after leading the Eagles to the Super Bowl and outdueling the league’s best in Patrick Mahomes, Hurts still faces unfair criticism from some.
Meanwhile, Brock Purdy, the last player drafted in 2022, is treated as the second coming of Tom Brady by sports media.
That a member of the sports media, in Philadelphia or otherwise, can say that Jalen Hurts is admired but Brock Purdy would be a god in Philadelphia is jarring. It demonstrates the continued plight faced by Black quarterbacks. It’s the kind of statement that reveals the lack of awareness of racial biases that appear in the coverage of Black athletes—Black quarterbacks in particular.
It also speaks to the need for more Black sportswriters and cultural understanding in newsrooms across the country. According to the most recent Sports Media Racial and Gender Report Card, the majority of sports editors, columnists, and reporters were white and male. Only 6.4% of all sports journalists are Black.
In response to the backlash, Mike Sielski shared that he was frustrated because according to the average engagement time, people didn’t read his article in full where his point juxtaposing Hurts and Purdy was analogous to Carson Wentz and Nick Foles. The difference is, however, that Foles was a 3rd round pick and he won the only Eagles Super Bowl.
While the assertion made by Sielski lacked awareness, he said the quiet part out loud; that Purdy would be a god in Philadelphia irrespective of Hurts defeating Purdy in last season’s NFC championship game.
Maybe the storied history of the Philadelphia Eagles and Black quarterbacks is a tired one for some fans. Maybe some would rather see Kolb or Wentz under center. Before you say race has nothing to do with this, remember that Philadelphia is the city that celebrates a fictional great white hope Rocky when it had Joe Frazier before and Bernard Hopkins after.
Sielski said that his job as a columnist is to “make people think and look at things in a new way and find fresh takes and angles.”
But his column, which effectively elevated Brock Purdy at the expense of Jalen Hurts on behalf of Philadelphia Eagles fans, failed to accomplish that.
And while not his intent, it played into a history of Black quarterback disrespect.
Considering that the road to hell is paved with good intentions, Philadelphia may also need to do some soul-searching of its own.
