Image Courtesy of: Jordan Victorian/ Digest Art
By Alex D. Williams, Staff Reporter
In a predominately Black sport, with football, the quarterback position has historically been played by non-Black players. Brett Favre, Tom Brady, and Archie Manning all set the standards high for the quarterback position, while the inclusion of Black men carrying that position was a rare occurrence.
Yes, of course, Doug Williams, Donovan McNabb, and Steve McNair helped to familiarize the NFL’s audience about the strengths of Black quarterbacks and popularize the idea of a black quarterback, but their efforts have not fostered much change over decades, until now. In this recent decade, this term Black quarterback has spread throughout the league, and some of the best teams in the NFL (National Football League) are headed by Black quarterbacks.
The start of the 2020-2021 NFL Season was even headlined by two top-tier quarterbacks: Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson, in a Thursday night football matchup. While Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs completely dominated in the game, it is even more important to recognize that history was being made.
Russell Wilson, Lamar Jackson, Dak Prescott, and Cam Newton also put up incredible numbers in their respective matchups.
Despite the league’s issues, it is great to see Black quarterbacks thriving at their positions and leading their teams to victories each week. Amid the nation’s racial turmoil and ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement, which was highlighted by many of the athletes in the league, the historical number of Black quarterbacks starting in Week 1 and its significance proves to be bigger than sports.
