NFL Racism Shuts Blacks Out Of Several Positions

Ethnic differences exist in every society. Ethnic groups often put their groups before others, in some cases because of self-love, but in most cases because of self-preservation.

A group’s affinity for other members of the same group can be publicly known. But other times, group preference is kept secret and denied, although the partiality remains.

This is the case of whites in America.

Their dislike for other groups and bias in favor of their own is a well-known fact, especially to people who have experienced discrimination, racism, and prejudice in America. The laws of the country instead advocate for equality of opportunity and equal treatment of groups—something vastly different from what is practiced.

Racism in America trickles down through every facet of society — even sports. Even sports with majority black players, sports where we would least expect racial bias to play a role in the selection of players, exhibit elements of the bitter stench of racism that stands out in the whiff of American society.

We need to look no further than the National Football League to one facet of how racism operates.

After rounds and rounds of football tryouts and weedouts, from Pop Warner youth football leagues to high school and college teams, black players rise above the crowd as the dominant stars in the sport. Hence, the majority of players in the National Football League are black players. But even while most players are black, there are positions where black players are entirely shut out.

Although blacks have for a very long time proven to be better than other races in the sport, some positions in the NFL are always unquestionably filled with white players. For example, when is the last time (or the first time) you’ve seen a black kicker in the NFL — whether he is a punter or a field goal kicker? Certainly black people play the kicker position in youth, high school, and college football levels. But why are they completely shut out of the position at major college sports football programs and at the professional level? Why is the kicker always white?

Why is the holder, who places the ball before the kicker, always white?

Why is the snapper, the player who snaps the ball to the quarterback or the holder, always white?

Do these white players have such an unremarkable amount of talent at holding and snapping the ball, perhaps, that their positions cannot be easily substituted by someone of another race? Are their hands that remarkably gifted? If so, then why are there not more white receivers catching the ball?

There can only be one reason why blacks are excluded from these positions, and that reason must be that white NFL team owners will put a white player in any position that they can. They have overwhelming preference for white players and will only recruit a black player if they have to — if they feel they need a black player in that position in order to win.

Therefore, white players will monopolize positions that are relatively insignificant. So long as they cannot impact the team in a negative way, they will get the job.

This seems to be an effort to maximize the number of white players in the league. If black players are placed in equal proportion in these inconsequential positions, the league would be more black, to the owners’ dismay. Owners already feel that the league is too black, so they put white players in these positions to compensate.

If we look behind-the-scenes, we will see the racism is even more prevalent. Who are the offensive and defensive coordinators? Who are the sports medicine doctors and physical therapists who work with the players? Who are the accountants employed for the NFL? Who are the marketing professionals sitting in cubicles? Who are the administrators and senior managers?

We don’t have to squint our eyes to see that the NFL is a racist league. But as professional football is a microcosm of the country in which it is played, can we really expect anything different?