MVN: Most Valuable Network

For generations there was an unwritten but firm belief in the National Football League that Blacks could not be quarterbacks. It would seem in the age where Michael Vick, Byron Leftwich, Aaron Brooks, Vince Young, Donovan McNabb, and others are starting quarterbacks that the nonsense would be a relic of history, but I do believe that it may still cast an ugly shadow.

The other day on the NFL Network I caught an NFL Films special on the history of Black Quarterbacks, and it got me thinking about the issue. The next day, JaMarcus Russell weighed in at 5 pounds more than his playing weight and was getting slammed for it. I began to wonder if there is a correlation between the overreaction to 5 pounds and the color of his skin. Many demagogues would like to make it seem like it was the answer so they could use the issue to advance their agenda, or it could be that his meteoric rise after the Sugar Bowl made him a target for demolition. The answer to this question lies in the hearts of those who have turned on him over the weigh-in.

Something else that crossed my mind, Russell exploded to the top of draft boards with his win over Brady Quinn in the Sugar Bowl, but there is almost no buzz over the quarterback who led his team to the National Title in Chris Leak. Russell suddenly got the major hype because he is a 'winner' but Leak led his team to the ultimate victory in College Football. As I have said many times in this space, I am not an expert on college football, so I will not pretend to know the reasons that Leak is not thought of as a top prospect despite taking his team to the promised land of a National Title.

Another name that was getting a lot of buzz was Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith of Ohio State. I know that height was the knock on him, as well as OSU's loss in the National Title Game, but he did manage to lead his team to an undefeated regular season. I would think that with his resume of success at OSU he would be considered a top prospect, despite one game and an a couple of inches.

The question is are all of the above players undervalued because of the pigmentation of their skin?

I don't think that there is a definite yes or no answer to that question, but I do feel that despite everything it takes more for a black quarterback to get the same recognition as a white quarterback. Granted, these days it takes more for a white wide receiver or running back to get the same level of accolades as a black counterpart. I do believe that most want to believe that we live in a color blind society, and I truly wish that we did.

Al Davis may pull the trigger and draft Russell, as he has shown over the years that the race of a player matters not. I do think that JaMarcus will have to be a top caliber quarterback to avoid labels because I do think that at a subconscious level there are lingering traces of the legacy of the Black Quarterback Stigma.