You might think at this point, given the number of Black quarterbacks there are in college football and the NFL, it wouldn’t still be an issue for some people. However, some recent discussions and events have shown that it remains very much an issue.
The subject reared its ugly head again recently in a few ways, one of which is the treatment of Denver Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson.
Broncos head coach Sean Payton has come under fire for benching Wilson for his backup, Jarrett Stidham, even though Wilson has the Broncos in the hunt for a playoff spot in a season that most figured they didn’t have a chance. Payton has been on Wilson’s back for weeks and it finally came to a head with the benching of his star QB. Some have presumed that this is personal between Wilson and Payton.
When ESPN’s Ryan Clark called out the head coach for his actions, things took an even uglier turn. Clark called Payton a “thug” for the way he has treated Wilson. Clark pointed out that when he was in New Orleans, he never did this to Drew Brees. He never berated or tried to humiliate his star quarterback as he did with Wilson, who has just as many Super Bowl wins as Brees.
"Let's be honest: Sean Payton has behaved as a thug since he became the coach of the Denver Broncos. Immediately when he gets in the building, he starts to undercut Russell Wilson personally and professionally from his first press conference on." – Ryan Clark on "Get Up" this… pic.twitter.com/u3KxreAaIb
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 29, 2023
This may not be a race thing, it may simply be a personal issue between Wilson and Payton, but it doesn’t make the head coach look good in the eyes of many.
Meanwhile, Lamar Jackson currently has the Baltimore Ravens in line to compete for a Super Bowl and could very well be on his way to winning his second NFL MVP award. While everyone is free to disagree with that possibility, Monse Bolaños of Fox Sports Radio went a bit too far, saying that Jackson shouldn’t be in the MVP race because he doesn’t fit the mold in her head for what a quarterback should be.
“I want my quarterbacks to be quarterbacky,” she said, a statement that left many to wonder what exactly the criteria for being “quarterbacky” entail.
Bolaños has strongly denied that Jackson’s ethnicity was a factor in her opinion, but it sure sounds like exactly the kind of assessment Black quarterbacks heard for years before it became commonplace to see them in the NFL.
This is a conversation happening on the college level as well. Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe recently revealed that former offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien told him he shouldn’t be the starting quarterback at Alabama.
Milroe struggled early in the season against the Texas Longhorns but has proved himself very worthy of the position since. He ended up as the second-best quarterback in the SEC behind Heisman winner Jayden Daniels.
When asked how O’Brien’s comments made him feel, Milroe answered “How would you feel if I told you, you sucked.”
Alabama QB Jalen Milroe says his former OC and current Patriots OC Bill O'Brien told him he should not be a quarterback.
"How would you feel if I told you that you sucked?"
"Look where I'm at right now. So who gets the last laugh?"pic.twitter.com/xurEAr61ge
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) December 28, 2023
O’Brien, unlike current Alabama’s new offensive coordinator Tommy Rees, likely didn’t want to adjust his offense to fit Milroe’s abilities, even though that has paid off for the Crimson Tide this season.
Ironically, O’Brien, now the New England Patriots offensive coordinator, caught flak this season for not doing a better job coaching up former Alabama quarterback Mac Jones.
Maybe it’s not about race, but how many times over the years have Black quarterbacks been told they aren’t good enough to play the position? That’s what O’Brien told Milroe. Rather than work with the young quarterback, he blew him off and told him to play another position.
Credit to Jalen Milroe for believing in himself and not listening to others, including some Crimson Tide fans who thought he should have stayed on the bench after the Texas game.
It’s just a shame that, in 2023, we are still having discussions over whether or not a Black quarterback is good enough to play the position.
