The National Black Players Coalition (NBPC) announced the upcoming release of a special report on the discriminatory practices of the NCAA and NFL, according to a press release.
The report is a culmination of years of research with a focus on the Washington Redskins.
This announcement came on the heels of questionable comments by commentator and former Washington quarterback Joe Theismann during a broadcast of the team’s preseason football game against the Ravens Aug. 23. Theismann, according to the Washington Post, said, “”Kirk Cousins has played much better at the quarterback position than Robert Griffin III has. Now, Robert is learning to work out of a pocket. He doesn’t look as smooth or as comfortable throwing the football. I mean, your eyes will tell you everything you need to know.
“. . . Now, if there was a quarterback competition, it wouldn’t be a competition. Kirk Cousins would be the man I believe he would have to go to, because of the efficiency with which he has run .
Coalition President and Founder Fred Outten told the AFRO these comments further exposed his racist temperament “against Black quarterbacks by automatically manufacturing a quarterback controversy that should not exist.”
The coalition said Theismann has openly shown his distaste for other Black quarterbacks aside from Robert Griffin III. Theismann said the quarterback for Auburn University Cam Newton, did not deserve the No. 1 draft pick in 2011 for the Carolina Panthers. Cam Newton went on to became Rookie of the Year and, in his third year, was one of three Black quarterbacks fighting for a spot in the Super Bowl.
“The Blackquarterback is the most disrespected and scrutinized highest profile position in football, and may be in all of sports,”said Outten. He added that every NFL team should have at least one black quarterback.
The Redskins, referred to as the “Washington Football Team” by the NBPC, has only drafted two Blackquarterbacks in its entire history; the first came 72 years after the conception of the team (Jason Campbell in 2005) then in 2012 with RGIII. The Redskins were the last NFL team to hire a Black player.
“No longer should the NFL be dominated by 32 white owners in a sport that has 70 percent black players,” Outten said. “What we have to do collectively is show our power and demand our equality; we aren’t asking for it, we are demanding it.”
Black players are also less likely to be hired by the NFL after they retire, he said. “We are just gladiators in a Roman coliseum,” Otten said. “Once the fight is over, we get nothing in return.”
The special report, expected to be released during the 2014-15 NFL season, will include information on the unfair treatment of other Black NFL quarterbacks v. White quarterbacks; the disproportionate number of Black head coaches, general managers, and owners relative to their qualifications for these jobs; the lack of Black team owners, and the fact there has never been a Black NFL.
“Now is the time to end racial discrimination in the NCAA and the NFL, beginning right here in the nation’s capital with the Washington Football team,” Outten said.
