I agree completely with Don- the campaign to end Leinart's career, and affix that white-only "bust" label to him, is almost unprecedented. Only Cade McNown's situation was probably worse.
The double standard here is about as glaring as possible. Jason Campbell was given four straight years as unquestioned starter in Washington, with no competition ever allowed. Kind of like Kordell Stewart's unlimited chances a decade before that. Byron Lefwich was the unquestioned starter for at least 3 years or so, and was only replaced by another black, David Garrard, who has also been given years to start with no competition allowed. Even now, with Luke McNown clearly outplaying him, and his obvious limitations at the position, he remains entrenched as a starter. Josh Freeman was simply atrocious as a rookie in Tampa Bay- flashing none of the potential that Heath Shuler, Cade McNown, Brady Quinn, Matt Leinart, etc. have flashed in their very limited chances. He is the unquestioned starter this season, and no matter how poorly he plays, he will be given at least another year with no pressure from any competitor. Michael Vick was horrific for years, and had Matt Schaub watching from the sidelines, but only his dog fighting business ended his starting career in Atlanta.
Now for the white QBs. Heath Shuler was never given the job with the Redskins. He had to look over his shoulder at Frerotte from the very beginning. Cade McNown, despite flashing more potential than almost any young QB in recent memory, was constantly vilified in the media, no matter what he did. This is a guy who threw for 275 yards in the second half (entered the game at half time), in his first ever NFL appearance. I watched that game, and the announcers never said one word about the phenomenal, unprecedented performance he put on. Jim Miller was competing with him during his entire, short tenure with the Bears. Brady Quinn has been given what, 10 NFL starts, scattered over three seasons? Always with Derek Anderson competing with him. He is already a "bust" in the brainless world the DWFs inhabit. Matt Leinart held the NFL rookie record for passing yards in a game, believe it or not, until Matt Stafford broke it last season. As noted, he has never been given the job for even a single uninterrupted season. Do you really think his USC backup, Matt Cassel, is a better QB than Leinart? Cassel is actually being given more of a chance to succeed.
There are numerous other examples, but the point is obvious. Even the few white QBs given a few years to start- Tim Couch, David Carr and Joey Harrington spring instantly to mind- were unfairly judged. They all played for awful teams, with porous offensive lines, and still managed to display plenty of ability. Alex Smith was already being labeled a "bust" when he was given a half season last year, and despite having his impressive performance all but ignored by the jock sniffers, appears relatively safe as a starter now (especially with the far more despised Carr as his backup). And there are a few black QBs who weren't given unlimited chances. Akili Smith, for instance, really wasn't given many games to start, and played for a woeful team as well. Stil, overall the trend is clear, and the favoritism black QBs receive is so obvious that everyone should see it.
I like how Leinart followed Saby Piscatelli's lead, and bitterly complained about his situation. It's about time that these unfairly treated white players start publicly mouthing off. I sense that the situation is reaching the boiling point for many of these guys. No matter how brainwashed they are, they have to realize what's going on.
It would also be nice to hear Kurt Warner speak up for Leinart.