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By Dylan B. Tomlinson
Gannett Wisconsin Newspapers
Marc Boerigter knows he is not like the others.
Boerigter would like to be viewed the same way as the other 11 receivers
on the Green Bay Packers training camp roster. He would love to be seen
as just another player battling for a roster spot.
But Boerigter is different. He stands out among the other receivers for an
obvious reason.
"Why?" Boerigter said with a nervous laugh. "Because I'm white?"
Yes, Boerigter is white. The Packers' other 11 receivers are black. Like
anyone else, Boerigter would prefer not to be noticed because of his race.
He would rather people identify him with his accomplishments on the
field, rather than the color of his skin.
In the NFL, white wide receivers stand out because there are so few of
them.
If Boerigter makes the Packers' roster this season, it will be the first time
the team has had a white receiver since 2001.
It was five years ago that Bill Schroeder led the Packers with 918 yards
and nine touchdowns in 2001. Since then, Brett Favre has completed
1,367 passes, but none of them were to a white wide receiver.
"We're a minority," Schroeder said. "In many ways being a white receiver is
kind of like being an African-American golfer. I don't know why it's like
that, but that's just the way it is."
Part of the reason is the NFL has fewer white players than ever. Just 25
years ago, 70 percent of the NFL was white. Now, it's 30 percent.
"The league has changed," NFL analyst and former Cincinnati Bengals
receiver Cris Collinsworth said on NFL.com. "It's difficult to compare
anything now in the NFL to what it was like 25 years ago."
In 1981, Collinsworth was one of four white receivers to play in the Pro
Bowl. He joined San Francisco's Dwight Clark, Denver's Steve Watson and
Seattle's Steve Largent.
In the past decade, Denver's Ed McCaffrey is the only white receiver to be
selected to the Pro Bowl. McCaffrey made it in 1998 and 1999, but in the
last six seasons, no white receiver has been selected.
Tennessee Titans receiver Drew Bennett had a Pro Bowl-type season in
2004 when he had 1,247 yards and 11 touchdowns, but he didn't receive
an invitation. After that season, he was referred to as "The Best White
Receiver in the NFL." It's a tag Bennett doesn't like.
"I guess you always want to be the best at something," Bennett said
sarcastically. "I don't control what people say."
In the last five seasons, there have been 105 1,000-yard seasons, but
only two of them  Bennett and Indianapolis' Brandon Stokley in 2004 â€â€
have come from white receivers.
"There are plenty of good, white receivers in the NFL," Bennett said. "I'm
not going to get obsessed over stats."
But the statistics can be very telling. Last season, only six white receivers
 Bennett, Stokley, St. Louis' Kevin Curtis, Atlanta's Brian Finneran,
Carolina's Ricky Proehl and Seattle's Joe Jurevicius  finished among their
teams' top three receivers. Curtis led all white receivers with 801 yards
and Bennett was the only one to lead his team in receiving.
Packers receivers coach Jimmy Robinson has been coaching receivers for
21 years, including 17 in the NFL. Robinson said there's one simple
reason why there are fewer white receivers in the NFL than ever before.
"Obviously, it comes down to talent," Robinson said. "Teams are
committed to keeping the guys who are the best ones, regardless of
color."
During the 2005 draft one of the players who was causing the most
commotion was Matt Jones, a 6-foot-6, 230-pounder who played
quarterback at Arkansas.
The Jacksonville Jaguars were so enamored with Jones that they took him
with the 21st pick.
When the Jaguars drafted Jones, it was the first time in over a decade a
white receiver was taken in the first round.
Packers cornerback Ahmad Carroll remembers when he got burnt by a
white receiver during his rookie season in 2004 when the Packers were
hosting the Titans on "Monday Night Football." The Packers were torched
for three passing touchdowns in the 48-27 loss, but the one play Carroll
remembers the most was the 11-yard touchdown pass from Steve McNair
to Eddie Berlin.
Berlin is white.
"If I get burned by a white receiver, I'm going to hear about it more than if
that's not the case," Carroll said. "Anybody who says otherwise is
tripping."
Bennett said he has gotten the sense defenders may actually try harder to
make sure they don't get beaten by a white player.
"I think they take me seriously. If you're in this league, you can obviously
play," Bennett said. "Now, does it bother them a little more if I burn them
for a touchdown? Well, you'd have to ask them that."
Schroeder said during his 11-year NFL career, he rarely got the sense he
was being treated any differently on the field because he's white.
"Occasionally, you'd get a young player who might say something, but
you'd never get that from a veteran," Schroeder said. "Players in the NFL
have too much respect for each other to get wrapped up in something
like that."
Packers cornerback Charles Woodson said he would never treat a receiver
any differently than another.
"No way," Woodson said. "You can't think that way. I treat every receiver
like they're Jerry Rice."
Boerigter said he's never felt like he's been treated differently because of
his race, but acknowledged there are aspects of being a white receiver
that aren't going to go away anytime soon.
"The biggest thing that I think is really funny is the comparisons that
people make," Boerigter said. "They always compare us to another white
receiver. When I first came into the league, people were comparing me to
Ed McCaffrey and Joe Jurevicius. We're always compared to those kinds of
guys.
"You're never going to see any of us compared to (a black) receiver."
Boerigter said he doesn't take any of it too seriously. He just wants to go
out and do his job as quietly as possible, but he understands as a white
receiver he may be scrutinized a bit more.
"I suppose it's funny," Boerigter said. "Guys make jokes about it, me being
a white guy. I guess there just aren't that many of us."
Dylan B. Tomlinson writes for The Post-Crescent of Appleton. E-mail him
at dtomlins@postcrescent.com
Gannett Wisconsin Newspapers
Marc Boerigter knows he is not like the others.
Boerigter would like to be viewed the same way as the other 11 receivers
on the Green Bay Packers training camp roster. He would love to be seen
as just another player battling for a roster spot.
But Boerigter is different. He stands out among the other receivers for an
obvious reason.
"Why?" Boerigter said with a nervous laugh. "Because I'm white?"
Yes, Boerigter is white. The Packers' other 11 receivers are black. Like
anyone else, Boerigter would prefer not to be noticed because of his race.
He would rather people identify him with his accomplishments on the
field, rather than the color of his skin.
In the NFL, white wide receivers stand out because there are so few of
them.
If Boerigter makes the Packers' roster this season, it will be the first time
the team has had a white receiver since 2001.
It was five years ago that Bill Schroeder led the Packers with 918 yards
and nine touchdowns in 2001. Since then, Brett Favre has completed
1,367 passes, but none of them were to a white wide receiver.
"We're a minority," Schroeder said. "In many ways being a white receiver is
kind of like being an African-American golfer. I don't know why it's like
that, but that's just the way it is."
Part of the reason is the NFL has fewer white players than ever. Just 25
years ago, 70 percent of the NFL was white. Now, it's 30 percent.
"The league has changed," NFL analyst and former Cincinnati Bengals
receiver Cris Collinsworth said on NFL.com. "It's difficult to compare
anything now in the NFL to what it was like 25 years ago."
In 1981, Collinsworth was one of four white receivers to play in the Pro
Bowl. He joined San Francisco's Dwight Clark, Denver's Steve Watson and
Seattle's Steve Largent.
In the past decade, Denver's Ed McCaffrey is the only white receiver to be
selected to the Pro Bowl. McCaffrey made it in 1998 and 1999, but in the
last six seasons, no white receiver has been selected.
Tennessee Titans receiver Drew Bennett had a Pro Bowl-type season in
2004 when he had 1,247 yards and 11 touchdowns, but he didn't receive
an invitation. After that season, he was referred to as "The Best White
Receiver in the NFL." It's a tag Bennett doesn't like.
"I guess you always want to be the best at something," Bennett said
sarcastically. "I don't control what people say."
In the last five seasons, there have been 105 1,000-yard seasons, but
only two of them  Bennett and Indianapolis' Brandon Stokley in 2004 â€â€
have come from white receivers.
"There are plenty of good, white receivers in the NFL," Bennett said. "I'm
not going to get obsessed over stats."
But the statistics can be very telling. Last season, only six white receivers
 Bennett, Stokley, St. Louis' Kevin Curtis, Atlanta's Brian Finneran,
Carolina's Ricky Proehl and Seattle's Joe Jurevicius  finished among their
teams' top three receivers. Curtis led all white receivers with 801 yards
and Bennett was the only one to lead his team in receiving.
Packers receivers coach Jimmy Robinson has been coaching receivers for
21 years, including 17 in the NFL. Robinson said there's one simple
reason why there are fewer white receivers in the NFL than ever before.
"Obviously, it comes down to talent," Robinson said. "Teams are
committed to keeping the guys who are the best ones, regardless of
color."
During the 2005 draft one of the players who was causing the most
commotion was Matt Jones, a 6-foot-6, 230-pounder who played
quarterback at Arkansas.
The Jacksonville Jaguars were so enamored with Jones that they took him
with the 21st pick.
When the Jaguars drafted Jones, it was the first time in over a decade a
white receiver was taken in the first round.
Packers cornerback Ahmad Carroll remembers when he got burnt by a
white receiver during his rookie season in 2004 when the Packers were
hosting the Titans on "Monday Night Football." The Packers were torched
for three passing touchdowns in the 48-27 loss, but the one play Carroll
remembers the most was the 11-yard touchdown pass from Steve McNair
to Eddie Berlin.
Berlin is white.
"If I get burned by a white receiver, I'm going to hear about it more than if
that's not the case," Carroll said. "Anybody who says otherwise is
tripping."
Bennett said he has gotten the sense defenders may actually try harder to
make sure they don't get beaten by a white player.
"I think they take me seriously. If you're in this league, you can obviously
play," Bennett said. "Now, does it bother them a little more if I burn them
for a touchdown? Well, you'd have to ask them that."
Schroeder said during his 11-year NFL career, he rarely got the sense he
was being treated any differently on the field because he's white.
"Occasionally, you'd get a young player who might say something, but
you'd never get that from a veteran," Schroeder said. "Players in the NFL
have too much respect for each other to get wrapped up in something
like that."
Packers cornerback Charles Woodson said he would never treat a receiver
any differently than another.
"No way," Woodson said. "You can't think that way. I treat every receiver
like they're Jerry Rice."
Boerigter said he's never felt like he's been treated differently because of
his race, but acknowledged there are aspects of being a white receiver
that aren't going to go away anytime soon.
"The biggest thing that I think is really funny is the comparisons that
people make," Boerigter said. "They always compare us to another white
receiver. When I first came into the league, people were comparing me to
Ed McCaffrey and Joe Jurevicius. We're always compared to those kinds of
guys.
"You're never going to see any of us compared to (a black) receiver."
Boerigter said he doesn't take any of it too seriously. He just wants to go
out and do his job as quietly as possible, but he understands as a white
receiver he may be scrutinized a bit more.
"I suppose it's funny," Boerigter said. "Guys make jokes about it, me being
a white guy. I guess there just aren't that many of us."
Dylan B. Tomlinson writes for The Post-Crescent of Appleton. E-mail him
at dtomlins@postcrescent.com
