In case you missed it, this week’s edition of Faux Rage Weekly (lol I made that up. It’s not a real publication) centered around potential NFL quarterback/wide receiver/safety Lamar Jackson. Jackson has had an absolutely electric career as quarterback of the Louisville Cardinals.
No, they haven’t won all that much, but the guy won the 2016 Heisman Trophy. And, in case you’ve missed it, winning the Heisman means you’re typically pretty good at football.
But, the thing that makes him so good is his unpredictable play-making ability. He’s a dual threat guy, but he has a pretty damn good arm, too. His video game numbers are what ultimately propelled him to the Heisman Trophy, and now that he’s headed for the NFL Draft, has led some to call him a first round draft pick. Others have projected him lower. Some have said he shouldn’t even play quarterback at all.
This week, though, the debate on Jackson has gone far beyond football. It’s become about race for a lot of people. I don’t think that’s entirely off the table here. But, I don’t think it’s fair to criticize football writers who say ‘Jackson won’t be a quarterback’ and assume it has anything to do with race.
Some people actually know what they’re talking about. And some of those people say Jackson would be better suited to play wide receiver. That is an okay opinion to have. You could say ‘Jackson will be a quarterback in the NFL’ and that is an okay opinion to have, too. It all comes down to who actually knows what they’re talking about and who doesn’t.
I’m a big fan of context here. Every case is probably different, and should be treated as such. Is Bill Polian racist? Maybe. Who knows? But, because Polian is racist (maybe), does that mean that everyone who says Jackson should switch to receiver is racist? No.
Like I said, some guys scout players thoroughly (for a living) and form opinions based off of that. They don’t deserve to have to deal with people calling them racist for having that opinion. It’s the hysteria of faux rage. People getting hold of an opinion and just running with it.
It wasn’t racist when people suggested Tim Tebow and Matt Jones switch to wide receiver. Also, no one was talking about Cam Newton playing wide receiver coming out of the draft. It could be about race to some people, and I would definitely argue that that’s wrong. But, for the most part, I think it’s just scouts being scouts – some of them trying to put a hot take out there to get page views up. Again, I would advise everyone to take this on a source by source basis.
There’s layers to this. Things aren’t that cut and dry, folks. And, personally, I think that’s a larger problem with our society. We want everything to be simple. We want everything cut and dry because it makes it easier to navigate the wealth of issues we argue about on social media every day.
The way I see it – the scouting of Jackson should stand on its own. It shouldn’t compare to Tebow’s draft journey. It shouldn’t compare to Newton’s. We’re talking about something that doesn’t relate to football ability. Will some people disregard Jackson because he’s black? Sure. And, that’s terrible. But, we can’t apply that vocal minority to broader society. That’s how people end up angrily tuning out.
Ultimately, I think you have to give the kid a shot. If he’s anywhere near as electric in the NFL as he was at Louisville, you have a hell of a franchise quarterback on your hands. He’s someone that should go to a team where he can develop for a few years before starting…think Los Angeles Chargers..but I think this guy’s definitely a quarterback. And, I’m kind of annoyed that I even felt compelled to write this piece.
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD and #BeBetter. “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Alabama Crimson Tide football, the WWE, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
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