Washington State sophomore
Kyle Sweet (left) knows all about the Caste System, having been smacked square in the face with it during his (almost non-) recruiting process.
Sweet, who measures in at 6 feet tall with 4.5 speed, a record-setting high school career, and a 3-star rating by the recruiting "experts," would appear to have an ideal resume for any collegiate program looking for a good receiver. in the race-based reality in which we live, however, this dynamic pass-catcher had just one Division I offer to play wideout thrown his way. (he was also offered by one other D-I school: to play safety for Hawaii.) "weird," huh?
it would be weird IF the Caste System weren't in play. Sweet tasted its bitter fruit firsthand, as multiple recruiters told him they weren't gonna offer him, simply because he was White.
Stefanie Loh, a non-White reporter for the Seattle Times, detailed Sweet's story in a
profile that could've been written by anyone here at CF. she wrote:
Toward the end of what had seemed like a promising conversation, the coach — who was white — said: “We’ve got to deal with the elephant in the room. You’re a white receiver and I have to sell you to our offensive coordinator.”
When the Sweets heard that, Eric told his son, “Even if they offer you, you’re not going there because we’re not going to get a decent chance.”
Is there a stigma that white football players at certain skill positions have to fight to overcome? It’s a sensitive subject that many are reluctant to discuss because it involves race
... During his son’s recruitment, Eric Sweet says at least three Pac-12 coaches referenced the fact that Kyle being a white receiver might work against him.
“It’s hard for a white guy to talk about opportunities. … I wouldn’t have believed it if three Pac-12 coaches hadn’t told me that,” Sweet said. “It sounds a lot like (what happened to) the African-American athletes in the 60s who were overlooked or ignored. But it’s flipped around."
Sweet, as of this posting, is #3 on Washington State in receiving yards (159) and tied for #2 in receiving touchdowns (2) on just 9 catches. he led WSU with 77 yards and 1 touchdown on 4 catches in their most recent game. he is clearly a Division I caliber receiver, and it is obvious why he was so under-recruited.
i encourage you to read the profile piece by Loh that i linked above. it addresses many of the things we illustrate here.
and speaking of Washington State, they have two other White receivers who are making an impact, both of whom have similar stories:
River Cracraft, another under-recruited record-setting athlete much like Sweet, has finished the past 3 seasons as the Cougars' #3 receiver in both receptions and yards.
non-recruited (at all) walk-on Kaleb Fossum is now the team's top punt returner despite being "too slow" to play at this level. "weird" how these guys can play despite being "evaluated" by "experts" as not being any good. huh?
