ESPN Lies Again About Black Quarterbacks

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ESPN’s The Undefeated, again, lied to its readers this week when it published a column claiming that the NFL’s system is racist against black quarterbacks. The premise of the story is that Justin Fields won’t go as high in the draft as ESPN would like and white quarterbacks, like Mac Jones, could go higher than ESPN prefers. Thus, ESPN blames systemic racism.

The writer, some guy named Martenzie Johnson, printed quotes that seriously make you wonder if he’s so obsessed with skin color that it has blinded his ability to think in a coherent manner.

“When it comes to black quarterbacks in particular, the NFL has long gone out of its way to keep the position as white as the painted yard lines on the field,” Johnson writes.

That paragraph, undoubtedly, plays well with ESPN management and other potential employers. Perhaps, that’s worth it if one is willing to report a lie, a lie that can be debunked in seconds if sports writers weren’t rewarded with job security for increasing racial division.

“Trying to keep the position as white as the painted yard lines on the field,” huh?

Anyone want to tell Johnson and his race-baiting employer that the highest-paid quarterback in NFL history, Patrick Mahomes, is black? Or that the second-highest-paid quarterback in NFL history, Dak Prescott, is black? Or that the third-highest-paid quarterback in NFL history, Deshaun Watson, is black? Or even that the fourth-highest-paid quarterback in NFL history, Russell Wilson, is black? Seems noteworthy.

What a pathetic line to write and then promote, which ESPN has:

The idea that black quarterbacks are left behind in the draft is equally idiotic and wrong. Jameis Winston, despite narrowly avoiding rape charges in college, went first overall. Jamarcus Russell, Cam Newton, Kyler Murray, and Michael Vick also went first overall. ESPN, of course, won’t publish that information. Those drafts must not be recorded in the databases.

ESPN has sent a message: in years that black quarterbacks are top prospects, race is not a factor. In drafts that white quarterbacks may go sooner, race should be the headline. The goal is simple: intimidate teams so they are afraid to draft white quarterbacks.

It’s hard to think of a more dangerous and dishonest process than this. ESPN is literally paying employees to lie and obsess over each athlete’s skin color. That’s the job — to say, despite all evidence, that black athletes have it worse than white athletes. You could do this too if you’re willing to accept a life as a pathetic, race-baiting stooge.

Here’s the truth: not everything is about race. A lot isn’t about race. The quarterback position isn’t about race, it’s about performance. And that terrifies sports outlets and writers like Martenzie Johnson.

Written by Bobby Burack

Bobby Burack is a writer for OutKick where he reports and analyzes the latest topics in media, culture, sports, and politics..

Burack has become a prominent voice in media and has been featured on several shows across OutKick and industry related podcasts and radio stations.

31 Comments

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  1. for some reason QB is the the holy grail of black athletics in America.

    being a QB can be the most rewarding if you win like Tom Brady, but thats not what most QB’s experience.

    its the only position in all of sports that deals with more blame than any other position in any other sport, with minimal chance to win it all and get all the credit.

    it reminds me of a time i was asked how to stay physically fit – i said that playing a sport is a test and working out is studying for that test – if you enjoy studying as much or more than the test – you win at life. if you only enjoy the test – you only win that test.

    • Completely agree. Only position that is comparable is a starting pitcher in MLB. Which is why both of those positions are typically the highest paid in their respective leagues.

      NFL teams don’t care about the color or race of the QB, or any player for that matter. They are more concerned with drafting the next Tom Brady, Patrick Mahomes, or Aaron Rodgers instead of the next Jamarcus Russell, Jeff George, or Ryan Leaf. I can guarantee you that Chicago didn’t draft Trubisky ahead of Mahomes because they were racist. More like they are stupid.

      Meanwhile, ESPN shamelessly pushes this lie while spending last season mocking Washington for drafting Dwayne Haskins. Or for ripping on Tampa for drafting Winston #1 overall and then shipping him to New Orleans as a failure. I don’t see The Undefeated or ESPN praising those teams for their “antiracist” draft picks. Instead, they loudly and proudly declare them to be draft busts.

      Sounds racist to me….

      • What is the purpose of the Undefeated anymore? The regular stories on ESPN push the woe is me black athlete angle enough so why push the cart even farther up the hill with a special section just for black athletes? ESPN sucks ass.

  2. ESPN is reverse MLK.

    Judge them by the color of their skin rather than their talent or productivity on the field.

    But it’s simple what the media is now…purposely promoting racial division everywhere.

  3. EVERY black writer for the Undefeated is obsessed with identity politics. Howard Bryant is the leader in use of the victim/race card. ESPN is about 4 feet deep into the 6 foot grave they’re digging for themselves and their collective lives. It wouldn’t surprise me one bit if Disney/ESPN join with the BET Network in the future because that’s going to be their only viewers

  4. ESPN and its racial bigotry is backwards thinking (to borrow a common leftist phrase about how things used to be).

    Sure this idea was probably more of the case where Warren Moon had to go to the CFL to play QB before a NFL team would take him or black QBs had to change positions to get a shot at the NFL…but that’s certainly not the case now. In fact you might say the NFL has ‘progressed’ from that.

    ESPN and all these race grifters want us back in Jim Crow times.

  5. Why is it if someone is bi-racial or mixed that can’t be stated. Dak’s mom is white, Mahomes mom is white, Russell is 40% white. If someone is half Italian and half Irish, you mention both. Why is it that we have to disregard someone’s whole self.

    • Good point. Like Kaepernick being raised by a loving white family. This distinction does have historically racist undertones, but now its because if a person can identify as partially black they go to the front of the victim Olympics line.

  6. “the NFL has long gone out of its way to keep the position as white as the painted yard lines on the field,”

    Mr Johnson might want to search for the name Joe Gilliam. He replaced Terry Bradshaw as the Steelers starting QB in 1974. According to Bradshaw, Gilliam got the starting job because he played better. Imagine that.

  7. They keep pushing this bullshit up and I am gonna completely cut them the hell out of my life.
    I already do not watch SC anymore and only turn it on to watch an NCAA football game, baseball game, or a golf match only because that’s what channel it is on…
    This sort of statement is beyond the pale and completely racist! Why are sponsors and media allowing this type of thing to continue?

      • No, I disagree.
        Ratings for 15 to 20 shows in a full calendar year that I tune into do not “say yes” to what ESPN and their sponsors are pushing.
        They don’t even register a blip on the ratings radar.

        Not tuning in daily, no ESPY’s, no ESPN daily shows, no weekly shows, none of the 3 or 4 million shows that are rated on Nielsen…sorry pal, but you are wrong there.
        That’s nonsense.

        • You and a million others like you who talk big but still eat from the hand of your master, all of you saying “It doesn’t matter if I watch, I am just one person.” ESPN does what it does because they know that you and millions of other hypocrites don’t care enough about your principles to make any sacrifice. You’ll only gripe about it and flip on the game.

  8. African Americans make up about 12.5% of the US population. African Americans currently represent about one third of all NFL starting QB gigs. I don’t even understand the *premise* of this hack’s argument, much less anything he tries to say to support it.

  9. The ONLY reason Kapernick began kneeling was his abilities were beginning to diminish and he needed to raise his media presence before he was released from the league. He’s getting paid by a company that uses cotton farmed by muslim slave labor in China to build shoes put together by people making $0.20 a day in that same China.

    LeBraon and Kapernick make millions on the backs of slaves.

  10. Eye on the ball. This is all about eradicating White people and erecting a new form of the socialist government. Biden and his ilk are useful idiots. Speak up with your voice and your wallet. Tell your friends. Be like the vegan at dinner. Let everyone know how you choose to live.

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