麻豆原创

When ESPN reporter Jason Reid talked to Doug Williams on January 29, just minutes after the Kansas City Chiefs clinched a Super Bowl appearance鈥攖heir third in four years鈥攁gainst the Philadelphia Eagles, the former quarterback was ecstatic. And emotional. ?听

In 1988, Williams became the first Black QB to start in and win a Super Bowl when he led the now Washington Commanders to a 42鈥�10 rout over the Denver Broncos. It was a trailblazing victory that paved the way for another first 35 years later: On Sunday, the Chiefs鈥� Patrick Mahomes and the Eagles鈥� Jalen Hurts will become the first two Black quarterbacks in NFL history to start in the same championship game.?听

鈥淸Williams] was very excited. This is something he was waiting on for a very long time,鈥� said Reid, a reporter for ESPN鈥檚 Black-led media platform Andscape. 鈥淲hen you see a future generation stand on your shoulders and succeed, there has to be pride that wells up inside you.鈥�?听

Just three days after the NFL鈥檚 biggest stage was set, Reid met with more than 100 students, faculty, and staff at 麻豆原创鈥檚 Washington College of Law on February 1 to discuss his new book,听Rise of the Black Quarterback: What It Means for America. The event鈥攚hich kicked off WCL鈥檚 Black History Month programming鈥攚as hosted by the college鈥檚 Sport and Society Initiative, led by N. Jeremi Duru, one of the nation鈥檚 foremost authorities on sports law.?听

鈥淚 want students to understand that sport is a tool we can leverage to benefit and strengthen society when it comes to equity and race鈥攁nd that positive change in sport can be a roadmap for society,鈥� Duru said.听

A quarterback is often the building block for a franchise and its highest-paid player and most visible marketing tool. But it鈥檚 also the position most rooted in systemic discrimination. Reid鈥檚 book details how Black quarterbacks were often moved to other positions because White teammates and league officials believed they lacked the necessary leadership and intelligence.?听

He cited Marlin Briscoe, who played quarterback for the Broncos as a rookie in 1968. Briscoe broke team records as the first Black starting quarterback in the AFL鈥攁 league that merged with the NFL in 1970. He left Denver after one season and was converted to receiver in 1969. While he won two Super Bowls as a receiver for the Miami Dolphins, Briscoe never returned to the QB position.?听

鈥淭here is a visceral pain in these men, who had dreams to play quarterback in the NFL but were then told they couldn鈥檛,鈥� Reid said.?听

Warren Moon, for example, had to prove himself for six years in the Canadian Football League before the Houston Oilers gave him an opportunity in 1984. Moon鈥攖he only Black quarterback in the Pro Football Hall of Fame鈥攔emains 13th in career passing yards, 16th in passing touchdowns, and is tied for second in single-game passing yardage. He may have racked up even more NFL passing records before he retired in 2000 if he could鈥檝e started out in the NFL.?听

But Reid, who worked at the Washington Post and Los Angeles Times before joining ESPN in 2016, believes the NFL has turned a corner on embracing Black quarterbacks. More than a third of NFL teams started a Black QB this past season鈥攃ompared to just four in the 2018 season鈥攁nd 7 of the last 11 Super Bowls have featured an African American quarterback.

Reid said the pipeline of Black quarterbacks from high school to college to the NFL is also expanding. Since 2011, seven Black quarterbacks have won the Heisman Trophy as college football鈥檚 best player. Five Black quarterbacks have been drafted in the first round since 2019, and NFL.com projects three Black quarterbacks will be selected among the first 13 picks in the upcoming draft.听

鈥淭here are more superstar Black quarterbacks now than there have ever been at one time,鈥� Reid said.?While Duru agreed, he noted听that most of the league鈥檚 backup quarterbacks鈥攕ometimes a pipeline to coaching jobs鈥攁re White. Duru is a leading expert on the NFL鈥檚 Rooney Rule, implemented by the league in 2003 to increase diversity in the NFL coaching ranks.?听

By the end of the 2022 season, only 12 Black quarterbacks were listed as backups鈥攋ust one more than the number of starters, despite there being nearly twice as many openings for backups.?

鈥淎n NFL coach told me in the next 5 to 10 years, you鈥檙e going to see 12 to 14 superstar Black quarterbacks, just because of the sheer numbers coming through the pipeline,鈥� Reid said. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 true there can be improvement in the ranks of the marginal Black quarterback.鈥�?听

Duru agreed there鈥檚 been progress. 鈥淏ut if we had true equity, then we鈥檇 have backup quarterbacks and starting quarterbacks roughly proportional to the number of Black players in the league generally [about 56 percent, according to听]. And we don't have either of those things yet.鈥�?听

~ By Jonathan Heeter

Photos by Amy Hart