FS1 pundit Nick Wright apparently thinks black quarterbacks are treated differently than white ones.
Wright had an interesting rant Thursday morning after reports about Kyler Murray interviewing poorly at the NFL combine. However, he didn’t exactly back it up with a ton of evidence.
He stated, in part, the following on “First Things First” this morning:
I’m so frustrated and honestly I’m so sick and tired of this obvious double standard when it comes to quarterbacks intelligence … I can think of one white quarterback, who as part of his draft evaluation, there was a question of ‘How smart is he?’ That was Johnny Manziel. Johnny Manziel had enormous off-field question marks, was dealing with addiction issues, and so he got tarred with that. But I can think of half a dozen black quarterbacks in the last five years. Seems like one in every three black quarterbacks on of the questions is ‘is he smart enough?’ It’s impossible for me to believe there haven’t been dumb white quarterbacks.
You can watch his full comments below:
“I’m so sick and tired of this obvious double standard when it comes to QBs intelligence. I can think of ONE white QB where, in his draft evaluation, there was a question of ‘How smart is he?’ But I can think of half a dozen black QBs in the last 5 years.”
— @getnickwright pic.twitter.com/ZWm5mo1VRP
— First Things First (@FTFonFS1) March 7, 2019
It would sure have been nice if he could have given some more examples. Here, I’m going to blow up his argument with two real quick examples of how there isn’t a double standard at all.
First, Baker Mayfield was the top pick in the 2018 NFL draft by the Cleveland Browns, and his attitude, behavior and personality were debated at length for months before the draft and still are to this day. Do you all know what color Mayfield’s skin is? He’s white. He’s white and got ripped apart before the draft and still gets ripped apart to this day. Hell, I criticize Mayfield on a routine basis. (RELATED: Baker Mayfield Takes Shot At Hue Jackson During Fox Segment With Cooper Manning)
If he does dumb stuff, then I treat it in such a fashion. If he does smart stuff, then we applaud. It’s really simple.
Secondly, some people flipped out when it was suggested black quarterback Lamar Jackson might be better suited for a different position. Now, I never felt that way, but some thought his game didn’t translate well. It was a massive debate.
Yet, I don’t remember people rioting when it was suggested Tim Tebow switch positions or Tracy McSorley work out as a defensive back. Do we all know what color both those quarterbacks are? That’d be white, once again.
This is such a lazy argument to me from Wright that it’s mind-boggling. He claims one out of every three black quarterbacks gets his intelligence investigated. Okay, then show me more examples. They should be easy to find.
Finally, the idea NFL executives and scouts aren’t breaking down the intelligence of every player, regardless of race or position, is simply absurd.