Sent this over to caste gatekeeper Peter King a few hours ago
Hello there,
Since no one else is going to bring this to your attention (or anyone in the NFL) I will. Lamar Jackson goes on record regarding bias against black quarterbacks. Every January the Rooney Rule and the lack of black coaches becomes the talking point all of you journalists harp over. What about the lack of white athletes in the game? Why is no one questioning that? Your colleague Mike Florio stated in his article:
"Still, the football world has changed dramatically when it comes to leveling the playing field for Black quarterbacks. And it’s not just a development for the NFL. The pigeonholing often began (and maybe still begins) at lower levels of the sports, with some youth coaches pushing the best white athletes to quarterback and the best Black athletes to running back, receiver, and defensive back. So with more Black players developing as quarterbacks and more Black quarterbacks playing and thriving in college, the NFL had no choice but to accept that the biases and stereotypes had changed."
The same applies to White athletes - they often get funneled to racially appropriate position because they are deemed the "wrong color" to be WRs, RBs, CBs, DBs and Dline. This pigeonholing is exactly the same if not worse as it essentially funnels young White athletes to be QB, OL or TE - Not giving them the opportunity to play other positions. Take it from me I have been following this trend for the past 17 years unlike you.
White kids are asked to transition from RB to FB or LB, WR to TE, Defensive Line to offensive line, Defensive back to Linebacker. Tony Dungey is even on record stating this.
We just saw a White athlete win defensive player of the year - TJ Watt and Cooper Kupp win NFL Offensive player of the year and Super Bowl MVP. Why isn't anyone acknowledging this? In a copycat sport shouldn't coaches at all levels be looking for the next TJ Watt and Cooper Kupp rather than writing them off as exceptions?
Even you are guilty of this...caught you! This is from your weekly column:
4. Consensus top pick 59 days from round one? No overwhelming one. It’s probably Michigan edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson (30.5 tackles behind the line last year). Seems very clean on and off the field, and could be a Jared Allen effort player with great production. One of the tackles or more athletic edge Kayvon Thibodeaux of Oregon will give Hutchinson competition.
BTW Hutchison tested as one of the most athletic players at the combine. Thibodeaux did not compete in all the events.
Here are some numbers and players at each position:
Running Backs - 1/36 - yes Peter only one white athlete at the RB position was invited.
Neither Clint Ratkovich nor Zander Horvath received invites to the combine (or the Senior Bowl for that matter). Ga State RB Tucker Gregg was certainly prodcutive enough to garner an invite as well. Let's not forget Yale's Zane Dudek - it was treated as a mystery why schools like Pitt and Penn State both ignored him during the recruiting process.
Purdue RB Zander Horvath
Career Stats - 268 carries 1181 yards 8 TDs / 68 rec 592 yards 1 YD
Wide Receivers - 3/40 - 3 out of 40 WRs invited to the combine were white. Below are 5 more who were not. Why don't you interview them and see if they believe the fact they are White played a role in their recruiting (or lack thereof)?
Tanner Conner Idaho State - 6'3" 230 - Personal best 10.51 100m, 200M 21.5
Career Stats - 127 receptions 2282 yards 15 TDs 17.96 ypc
https://www.nfldraftdiamonds.com/2020/06/tanner-conner/
Britain Covey - Utah
Career Stats - 184 rec 2011 yards 11 tds / 49 rush 300 yards
Punt Returns - 92 1092 yards 4 TDs
Kick Returns - 33 ret 838 YDS 1 TD
WR Tyler Snead ECU
Career Stats - 201 rec 2380 yards 18 TDs / 12 rush 94 yards 1 TD
Kick Returns - 60 returns 1268 yards 21.1 avg 2 TDs
Punt Returns - 37 returns 360 yards
WR Jack Sorensen - Miami OH - 7th in the nation in recieving yards in 2021 with 1406 yards
Career Stats - 191 receptions 3070 yards 16.1 ypc 20 TD
WR Thomas Hennigan - App State
Career Numbers - 242 receptions 3124 yards 12.9 ypc 23 TD
Defensive linemen - 4/48
Why weren't the below players invited to the combine?
Wisconsin DT Matt Hennigsen - 6-3 291 lbs (Wisconsin was up their with UGA as the best in the country)
38 solo / 54 asst 92 total
13.5 TFL
8.5 sacks
4 PD
2 FR - 2 TDs
Nebraska DT Ben Stille - 6'5 295 lbs
70 solo / 79 asst 149 total
29.5 TFL
14.5 Sacks
7 PD
DE Zach VanValkenburg, Iowa - 6'4" 267 lbs
46 solo / 48 asst 94 total
23.5 TFL
9 sacks
4 FR
At Hillsdale College (D-2) he had 33 tackles/37 ast 70 total tackles
14.5 TFL
8.5 sACKS
DE Scott Patchan - Miami and CSU for 2021
77 solo / 76 ast 153 total
35.5 tfl
20.5 sacks
4 PD
4 FF
3 FR
His 2021 season he was one of the most dominant DEs in the country - 34 solo/34 ast 68 total. 19.5 tfl 11.5 sacks
and then onto defensive backs which boasts an impressive 0/61 in terms of White athletes invited:
All of these players deserved invites:
Clemson S Nolan Turner 6'1 205 lbs
135 solo/55 assisted 190 total tackles
13.5 TFLs
2 sacks
7 Ints
13 PD
2 FF
S Reed Blankenship MTSU - 6'1 204 lbs
265 solo /154 assisted 419 total
26.5 TFLs
3 sacks
9 interceptions
19 PDs
3 FFs
Cory Rahman Tennessee State (HBCU) - 6'2" 195 lbs
41 Solo 24 ast 65 total
5.5 tfl
1 sack
2 INT
At NAIA Southeastern he had 12 INTs over his 4 years before transferring to Tenn St
Miami (OH) S Sterling Weatherford
131 solo / 78 assisted 209 total
10.5 TFL
3 sacks
4 INTs
19 PDs
S Scott Nelson Wisconsin
81 solo / 44 assisted 125 total
11.5 tfl
1.5 sack
4 INTs
15 PD
1 FF
S Jack Koerner Iowa
137 solo / 78 assisted 215 total
6.5 TFL
6 INT
8 PD
2 FR
1 FF
I believe that I have laid out a nice opening argument on the bias White athletes face (spoiler alert: they face much bigger obstacles than their black counterparts). Bear in mind this trickles down to the lower levels of football just as Florio mentioned. Is it fair that the above White athletes are being overlooked based on their race because they are White? Why don't you track down some of the above names and talk to them?