Race is still an issue in this country and all around the world and it will continue to be as long as people still walk it. Our own country's history has hostile and shameful racial divides woven into the fabric of its story that will not be abated with time. Even the election of a black president cannot wipe the slate clean. We have this issue and it exists, it is complicated and sports often serves as a platform to debate and discuss race. The issue of Dan Gilbert's response however, has nothing to do with racism.
Gilbert's letter and subsequent radio interview has no racial motivation behind it. He was hurt and offended that James did not keep in contact with him and then embarrassed his organization and city during his hour-long farce on ESPN. Dan went over the line in his attack on LeBron, but it was not racially motivated. However it did not take long for the straws that stir the racial debate drink to float to the surface.
Who better to represent the agitators than Jesse Jackson? The "reverend" got directly to the point, accusing Dan Gilbert of having the mentality of a slave-owner and even comparing LeBron leaving Cleveland to a slave leaving the plantation. Despite stating the obvious that comparing LeBron to a slave is ridiculous, the theoretical intricacies of a more clouded analogy. The difference is akin to dissecting a song. The songwriter may intend one message or emotion when he wrote it but the listener can interpret it however he or she wants. The listener is free to make those interpretations but they cannot judge the songwriter based on those. If Jackson and others want to examine the relationship between owners and predominantly black players they are more than welcome, it just has no place as an explanation for the motivation of the comic sans letter.
Tuesday, July 13
In the LeBron Situation, Racism is Just a Red Herring
Wednesday, October 8
Movie Review: The Express
Thanks to our friends over at Arts a la Mode, I was able to see an early screening of The Express, the movie about the life of Ernie Davis which opens this Friday. The film chronicles the life of the former Syracuse running back based on the book written by Robert C. Gallagher. Since it is hard to tell anyone, especially those who are not sports fans, that a film is must-see, I will say that it is a should-see. Read on for the review.
I had first heard about the film while watching the Cuse's first football game against Northwestern this season. I watched the game with my friend who is a Syracuse alum; needless to say by the end he was not happy with the team's performance as they lost 30-10. The majority of Syracuse alums are not pleased with the football team's performance this year. They are 1-4 and it is not likely they will win another game all season. AD Daryl Gross is under instense scrutiny to do something to remedy the malady of losing that has stricken the football program. Greg Robinson is 8-32 since taking over for Paul Pasqualoni. In fact, the movie was premiered in Syracuse the day before the Orange played Penn State. The Orange lost that game 55-13 and that was with Penn State applying the brakes. The state of Syracuse football is truly a trace of its former glory. But I digress, at least the film gives Orange fans a chance to relive a golden era of their football history.
As I entered the theatre, I had very little knowledge of Ernie Davis. I had not read the book and knew only that Davis was the first African-American to win the Heisman Trophy. By the end of the film I was thankful for my education on the man. The story begins naturally in Ernie's childhood facing the struggles of poverty and racism in coal-mining country. His main source of strength comes from his family, particularly his cousin Will and his Father, Willie "Pops" Davis. Pops is played brilliantly by Charles S. Dutton, whom you may remember from the TV show Roc or from his outstanding performance as the janitor in Rudy. Here is one the best scenes from the film with Dutton opposite Sean Astin.
Dutton delivers again as the strong, sacrificing patriarch of the Davis family who works in the coal mines to provide for those around him. A poignant scene that first introduces what role sports and race played back in that portion of American history is when young Ernie(Justin Martin), Will(Justin Jones) and Pops are gathered outside a store window watching Jackie Robinson play on the television. Dutton really conveys the sense of pride that African-Americans must have felt seeing Robinson break the color barrier.
The film shuffles and somewhat hurries along(as it has to) to Ernie excelling at the game of football as a young man and into high school. That is where the coach of Syracuse Ben Schwartzwalder played by Dennis Quaid decides to recruit him. Quaid's performance is by no means Oscar-worthy, but he does display well the ruggedness but mentoring nature of Schwartzwalder's coaching style. Let's put it this way, its a well done performance by Quaid, well above his showing in Jaws 3. Ben realizes he can get the edge in recruiting Davis from Elmira by using running back Jim Brown. Brown had just finished his time at Syracuse under Schwartzwalder and was headed to the Cleveland Browns. Darrin Dewitt Henson gives a performance that will make any sports fan smile. He portrays the proud personality of Brown and the edge with which he dealt with the issues of race and how he approached the game of football.
Brown approaches Davis, who is in awe of him, and tells him of what life will be like in the world of college football. I was happy to see that in one scene where Brown and Davis are discussing Syracuse Brown teaches Davis about lacrosse. Jim Brown was an all-american in lacrosse at Syracuse and regarded by some as the best lacrosse player of all time. The college age Ernie Davis is played by Rob Brown, who apparently is the man now dog. Besides starring in Finding Forrester, Rob also was recently in Stop Loss and has some sports movie experience from his role in Coach Carter, which of course starred Samuel L. Jackson. Rob Brown brings out the quiet nature of Ernie's personality while showing the fire and ability he possessed on the field.
Davis ultimately chooses Syracuse and starts practicing with the Varisty even though he cannot play as a freshman. From the beginning it is apparent that Davis is a special talent and that draws the jealousy of some of his teammates, but also pushes them to be better. The football sequences for the movie are executed well. Of course, all the authentic 1960s football gear is on display and they even have the politically incorrect mascot of Syracuse from back in the day. Back then they were the Orangemen and had a native american in full garb and face paint as the mascot. I think we can all agree Otto the Orange is a much better symbol for the university. The football sequences are laced with slow-motion, focus adjustments, and a few special effects. It's similar to the effects in Any Given Sunday but with less glitz and glam.
The story follows Syracuse through the realization of Schwartzwalder and his coaches(assistant coach Roy Simmons played by Clancy Brown[Head guard Mryon Hadley from Shawshank Redemption, had to throw that in]) to use the full house formation to utilize Davis, to playing at West Virginia in a night game. This is where you start to see the blatant racism displayed in certain parts of the country at that time. Davis and the other Syracuse black players are told to keep their helmets on and to play by the "rules" of the time. This included not crossing the goal-line. Davis refuses to comply and goes into the endzone to the aggrevation of the fans and his coach. Schwartzwalder then comes to realize that although he is not directly a racist himself, bowing to the rules of others who would hold his black players down is just as detestable. The issue of race comes to a head as the team travels to Dallas for the 1960 Cotton Bowl. There Davis and his black teammates Jack Buckley(Omar Benson Miller) and Art Baker(Laroyce Hawkins) face near riots over their participation in the game. They are sent to a small closet of a room in the hotel and face mass heckling from the public and media. It gets to the point where Syracuse AD Lew Andreas(Chelcie Ross who played coach Dan Devine in Rudy and George in Hoosiers) tells Schwartzwalder not to play Davis. Ben of course refuses and Davis is named MVP as he leads the Orangemen to victory after returning from an injury. Also of note was the fact that Davis played both ways; as a running back and defensive back.
As I stated earlier I have not read the book, but I have heard that the movie portrays Davis as moving into the role of activist as it came to racism. The book apparently discounts this, but there can be no debate that by his mere actions and success, Davis was a champion of civil rights whether he was outspoken about the subject or not. He was a hero the same way Jackie Robinson was a hero, and his refusal to change his actions on the field due to the desires of the ignorant people of the time makes him the important man of character the movie shows him to be.
*Possible Spoiler Alert(depending on how much you know about Ernie Davis)*
Again, I did not know the whole story of Davis' life before I watched the movie and most of that comes from the fact that Davis never had a flourishing pro career. I did not know why until the end of the movie, which culminates with Davis winning the Heisman Trophy and meeting with JFK afterward. The impersonation of JFK's voice was absolutely awful, probably the worst thing about the film. They could have gotten Dan Castellaneta who voices Mayor Quimby(and Homer) on the Simpsons and it would have been miles of improvement. The story ends sadly though when Davis, who has been drafted by the Cleveland Browns is diagnosed with luekemia. To think what could have been with Davis and Jim Brown in the same backfield, it would have been the most legendary sports tandem of all time. One of the most emotional scenes in the movie is when Schwartzwalder gets Davis to speak with a prized African-American recruit, much like Jim Brown did with him. The recruit's name was Floyd Little, who of course went on to become a great running back for Syracuse and in the NFL. In the scene Little is displaying his exuberance on getting the chance to play football in college and beyond as Davis emotionally shares with him what he learned about life through football and the heartbreaking reality that he would never get to pay it again. The audience in the theatre, which was into the movie all the way through, literally was crushed when the sentence on the screen told of Ernie's death at age 23.
This movie taught me all I did not know about Ernie Davis and I'm glad it did because without the hollywood press about the movie that we often scoff at, I would have most likely never have learned his story. Even if some of the minor facts are off, the message and the man are brought to life. The acting is a bit wooden at certain parts and the writing is not the best, but it is the story that makes this a worthwhile film for any sports fan to see.
Final Verdict:
4 and 1/2 Shacklefords(out of 5)
Tuesday, October 7
Marlin Briscoe: A Forgotten First
40 years ago today, Marlin "The Magician" Briscoe started at quarterback for the Denver Broncos, and in doing so became the first African-American to start at that the helm in the NFL. Briscoe also went on to become an All-Pro wide receiver for the undefeated '72 Dolphins. A quick search reveals painfully few mentions of this anniversary. One ESPN writer describes Briscoe as "one of the game's often-overlooked pioneers" less than a week ago, but still the four-letter neglected any legitimate mention. With "The Express" coming to theaters soon to expose a new generation to Ernie Davis, hopefully the same will be true when "The Magician" comes out.Read More
Tuesday, September 9
Black QBs and the NFL: An Assessment
In 2001, the Christian Science Monitor bravely declared, “Football’s Last Race Barrier Crumbles.” In that article, Charles Ross, a history professor from the University of Mississippi concluded, "It's only a matter of time before you see more and more African- Americans at quarterback. The competitive nature of the game will make it a non-issue within the next 10 years." These declarations were made when players such as Donovan McNabb, Daunte Culpepper, and Michael Vick were redefining the quarterback position. It has been almost eight years since those statements, and Daunte Culpepper has declared early retirement. Just four years ago, Culpepper had one of the greatest seasons ever recorded by a quarterback, and heading into this year, only two teams even bothered to work him out. The current landscape of the NFL suggests the bumper crop of Black quarterbacks at the start of the decade was a fad and not a change in the mindset of personnel departments.
A primary cause of the current lack of Black quarterbacks in the NFL remains rooted in the lower levels of football. In high school, a coach wants his most talented players on the field. For most freshmen, this rules out playing quarterback. These young men, being team players and eager for to get on the field, often play other positions. As a result, they do not practice at quarterback, and even though many may eventually play quarterback at the high school level, scouts often have them rated higher at these other positions. A perfect example is Rueben Randle, considered to be one of the top wide receiver recruits in the nation this year. He came to high school as a quarterback, but with his 4.4 speed, was moved to wide receiver. This year Randle will be playing quarterback for his team, but top colleges are recruiting him to catch, not throw. Randle could get a scholarship to play quarterback, but it would be at a smaller school, and he would probably have to wait for playing time. As a wide receiver, he gets to pick which BCS school he wants to attend and will play sooner. Randle’s story is a common one in high school football; a young man too talented to keep off the field, and therefore does not spend adequate time practicing the quarterback position. Rueben’s preference remains wide receiver, but his choice as well as countless other recruits contributes to unintentional discrimination. In the NFL, the quarterback, by average, is the highest paid position. With so many young Black men playing other positions, they self-eliminate from this highest of pay brackets.
At the pro level, there remain disconcerting trends. There are only two Black offensive coordinators and three Black quarterback coaches. Of all coaching positions, these numbers are by far the lowest, including head coaches. The NFL has done well by minority coaches with the Rooney Rule, but these two positions continue to lag behind. Of these five coaches, only Sherman Smith played in the NFL, and he played running back. This is not an indictment of their ability, but several NFL quarterbacks have transitioned into these positions, and yet no Blacks quarterbacks have. Often these quarterbacks that make the transition are career backups, but that is where the next disturbing trend lies.
There are currently fifteen Black quarterbacks on active rosters, injured reserve, or practice squads. This constitutes 14.5% of the total number of quarterbacks in the league. Six Black quarterbacks started for the team at the beginning of this season (18.5%), and all of them were drafted in the first or second round, with the exception of David Garrard, who was a fourth round pick. Consider that ten of the current starting QBs were selected after the fourth round, or were not drafted at all. Black QBs active in the league account for only one more than starters drafted after the fourth round. The only two Black quarterbacks drafted after the fourth round to have careers in the NFL in the last twenty years were both sixth round picks, in 1989, Rodney Peete and in 1992, Jeff Blake. Of the eleven Black quarterbacks on active rosters, only two are backups with more than two years of experience, Byron Leftwich and Cleo Lemon. Two others are on injured reserve this season, Anthony Wright and Charlie Batch, but Leftwich was only signed when Batch was injured. Currently, there are twenty-nine other backups with more than two years of experience, meaning Black backups (with more than two years experience) are only 6.5% of the backup talent pool. Fourteen undrafted quarterbacks made rosters this season; five starting for their team, but Cleo Lemon is the only active undrafted black QB in the league. In the last twenty years, only two undrafted Black quarterbacks, Warren Moon and Anthony Wright have started a playoff game, but between the 1998 and 2001 seasons, six undrafted quarterbacks started in the playoffs. While the supremely talented Black QBs are given an opportunity, Black “project” QBs or backups are almost non-existent. It’s hard to argue with Donovan McNabb when he stated in a 2007 interview with HBO, "Let me start by saying I love those guys (Carson Palmer and Peyton Manning), but they don't get criticized as much as we do. They don't." When black quarterbacks know they are only one new draft pick or one bad training camp away from the end of their career, it’s not hard to imagine the pressure they must feel. Quarterbacks fail at the start of their career. It’s a rule seldom broken, but when Black quarterbacks suffer from “growing pains,” they are often faced with serious choices: find work in a new league, knowing they will likely never return, change position, or abandon their playing careers. In a league known for second chances, the offer does not extend to Black signal callers.
The void of Black backups does not gain credibility when comparing the NFL with other football leagues. Black quarterbacks are having continued success in other leagues, but even when they do, they rarely get a shot with NFL clubs. In 2004, former Patriot draft pick Rohan Davey was the Player of the Year in NFL Europe and led his team to the title. He struggled when he returned to training camp with the Patriots, and was cut before the season started. The second best quarterback in NFL Europe that season, 49er starter, J.T. O’Sullivan. Annually, at least fifty percent of the top quarterbacks in the Canadian Football League are Black, many who never played a down of NFL football, at least not at quarterback. Before shunning both of these leagues remember that quarterbacks such as Warren Moon, Doug Flutie, Kurt Warner, Brad Johnson, and Jay Fiedler have all spent time in either league. With the dearth of quality quarterbacks, it appears at least negligent that personnel departments aren’t considering some of these options. One of the primary complaints against unemployed Black quarterbacks has been a lack of leadership. Kerry Joseph, one of the many Black QBs in the CFL, was the CFL 2007 Most Outstanding Player and won an award for exceptional motivational and leadership skills. When he played with the Seahawks, he was a safety.
Some people have been quick to criticize Daunte Culpepper for not taking the offers of the Packers and the Steelers. Culpepper contended the offers were non-negotiable and below market value. He’s right. Culpepper was offered $1 million by the Packers and the veteran minimum from the Steelers. Black quarterbacks being underpaid is not new, and this was another case of teams attempting to underpay. Excluding the ridiculous rookie contracts, Culpepper would’ve stood to make less than a third of what Rex Grossman, Brad Johnson, Damon Huard, Josh McCown, Patrick Ramsey, and Billy Volek all are being paid. He’d make less than half what Gus Frerotte, Trent Green, and Chris Redman will this season. Culpepper was one of the best young quarterbacks in league, who pushed himself to come back from injury, and landed himself in two bad situations at Miami and Oakland. While these offers seem fair, they both fall well short of market value. In an interview that appeared in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, NFL scout and FOX analyst Chris Landry offered this assessment, “[T]eams right now, because of (Culpepper's and Leftwich's) injury history, or lack of production recently due to the injury, are not willing to give starter money. They are interested in maybe giving them an incentive-laden deal, where if you come in and win the job, then you've got starter money.” Aaron Brooks does not quite measure up to the other two, but according to Landry, “[i]n the right spot, as a backup, heck, he's a guy that's started enough in this league — I think he can be a solid No. 2.” While Leftwich accepted the veteran minimum with the Steelers, Brooks’s phone stays silent, and Culpepper’s patience has worn out.
Seven years after this controversy “died,” it’s one again alive and well. When playoff-caliber quarterbacks such as Daunte Culpepper, Aaron Brooks, and Byron Leftwich sit for months unemployed while other aging quarterbacks continue to find work, something is amiss. The switching of positions at the prep level may be largely unavoidable, and because it grants scholarship opportunities for more young men, it could be argued it should not be avoided. The situation in the NFL, however, needs to be remedied. Personnel departments may not consciously engage in racism, but by choosing to neglect Black quarterbacks, particularly backups, they rob their teams of the best chance to win and perpetuate one of sports most damning stereotypes.
EDIT: I have been informed that referring to Culpepper, Leftwich, and Brooks as playoff-caliber may be excessive. In hindsight, I have to agree, but all three did lead their teams to the playoffs, and that was the genesis of the description.
Sources:
NFL.com
The Black Quarterback Site
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
ESPN.com
New York Times
Canadian Football League
