A common critique from sports fans — particularly the White, male crowd — is that players should focus on only one thing: the sport they play. This sentiment emerges mainly during political or social strife when players of color speak up in support or against it. Famously, when NBA phenom Lebron James criticized President Trump on air and lamented the racism he’s experienced, journalist Laura Ingraham told him to “shut up and dribble.” NFL Quarterback Colin Kaepernick was black-balled from the league for kneeling during the anthem in protest of racialized police brutality. President Trump called to “get that son of a bitch off the field.”
So, let’s say the player doesn’t do anything. Let’s say the player doesn’t speak about any off-field concerns in press conferences. Let’s say the player doesn’t exercise their right to protest.
What do they do when the racism follows them into their sport?
Let’s Get Specific
The NFL is over a hundred years old with thirty-two teams scattered across the country. As of 2020, an overwhelming 74.3% of the league was Black with White players trailing behind at 24.4% and Latino players at 1.3%. This was a dramatic shift from its numbers in 1960 where only 26.4% of the league was Black, White players made up the majority at 73.1%, and Latino players were represented in a meager 0.5%. Despite this development, Black players are still largely underrepresented in the quarterback position. In 2020, White players made up 75% of quarterbacks despite being only 24.4% of the league. Why?
For a total of 32 teams, 16 of them started a Black quarterback in the 2025 season — a record-breaking feat. Quarterbacks are frequently touted as playmakers, great signal callers and level-headed. There’s a level of intelligence needed to be a quarterback that the league is reluctant to admit Black men have. Instead of attaching these assertions of intelligence to Black quarterbacks, sports media often waves it away as athleticism. Instead of being a playmaker, Black quarterbacks are dual-threats. Instead of being a signal caller, Black quarterbacks are physical specimens. Instead of being level-headed, Black quarterbacks are explosive.
The NFL, as a result, has been accused of racial stacking — a term defined as players being typecasted into certain positions due to their ethnicity. White players are slotted into quarterback and kicker positions — the thinking positions — whereas Black players are boxed into the physical positions like wide receiver, defensive back, running back, and linebacker.
Black quarterbacks are held to expectations that White quarterbacks aren’t. When interviewed by The Buffalo News, the then-Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor stated that the league was “…always going to be twice as bad just because of who I am – an African-American quarterback. […] Look across the league, man. We’re held to a certain standard. We almost have to be perfect.” He continued with “I wouldn’t say it’s just an African-American quarterback thing. It’s an African-American athlete thing – or just an African-American thing. And that’s not anything I just found out. It’s been that way since I was a kid.”
Similar statements have been made by other Black quarterbacks including Cam Newton and Warren Moon. A recent, frequent target of the ire surrounding Black quarterbacks has been Lamar Jackson — a player that seemingly just “shuts up and dribbles.”
There Is No Winning
Lamar Jackson has been the starting quarterback for the Baltimore Ravens since being a first-round pick in 2018. Prior to being drafted, he had won the Heisman Trophy as a sophomore at the University of Louisville — the youngest player to ever win. He’s a two-time MVP and the all-time leader in rushing yards for quarterbacks in the league. He was a savior for the Ravens following Joe Flacco’s 2018 injury and led them to a division title — once again, the youngest player to do so — his rookie year. Numerous records were broken in his rookie year, with a slew of awards given since then. This was all done as a quarterback; Jackson has only ever been a quarterback.
And yet, Jackson was constantly advised to switch positions. Despite his accolades as quarterback, Jackson had to profusely refuse to run drills meant for wide receivers, tight ends, and running backs at the annual NFL Combine. No other quarterback has had to do that. When Jackson was drafted, Hall of Fame general manager Bill Polian asserted that Jackson should be a wide receiver instead — a position over 85% Black. Polian described Jackson as “[An] exceptional athlete, exceptional ability to make you miss, exceptional acceleration, exceptional instinct with the ball in his hand…” on ESPN’s Golic and Wingo show. Notably, Polian uses similar language as mentioned earlier: “athlete,” “instinct,” and “acceleration.”
All of these are observations on Jackson’s innate ability as an athlete, not his intelligence. Even the suggestion of switching from quarterback to wide receiver is the idea of moving a Black player from a thinking role to a physical one. After Jackson’s semi-successful playoff run with the Ravens, Polian admitted he was wrong because of his use of the “old, traditional quarterback standard with [Jackson].”
A similar scandal erupted in 2023 with radio host Monse Bolaños discussing Jackson with her co-host Dan Beyer. She compared Jackson, not to other quarterbacks, but to Christian McCaffrey, San Francisco’s running back. Bolaños defended her position by stating, “I want my quarterbacks to be quarterback-y, and, to me, Lamar Jackson’s just a great athlete.”
He’s just a great athlete.
At what point is Lamar Jackson enough for the football analysts and sports pundits? At what point are Black quarterbacks enough? It’s been nine years since Tyrod Taylor went on the record about the expectations for Black quarterbacks, when will there be change? Will the 2026 season see more improvement for the unseen amounts of Black quarterbacks on the field?
Or will they just not be quarterback-y enough?