Super Bowl 50: Stereotypes of Race at the Quarterback Position

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1 Skyline - The Big Sky Undergraduate Journal Volume 4 Issue 1 Article Super Bowl 50: Stereotypes of Race at the Quarterback Position Joshua R. Armstrong California State University, Sacramento, josh27armstrong@gmail.com Follow this and additional works at: Part of the Education Commons, and the Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons Recommended Citation Armstrong, Joshua R. (2016) "Super Bowl 50: Stereotypes of Race at the Quarterback Position," Skyline - The Big Sky Undergraduate Journal: Vol. 4: Iss. 1, Article 5. Available at: This Research Article is brought to you for free and open access by Skyline - The Big Sky Undergraduate Journal. It has been accepted for inclusion in Skyline - The Big Sky Undergraduate Journal by an authorized administrator of Skyline - The Big Sky Undergraduate Journal.

2 Super Bowl 50: Stereotypes of Race at the Quarterback Position Keywords sports, football, race, African-american, white, athlete, quarterback, stereotype, prejudice This research article is available in Skyline - The Big Sky Undergraduate Journal:

3 Armstrong: Stereotypes of Race at the Quarterback Position Introduction African-American athletes in the United States have had to deal with a substantial amount of prejudice and discrimination in the sports world since the early 1900 s when the first African-Americans were allowed to play. The prominence of African-Americans in the most popular sports and the prevalence of these sports serves as a very public presentation of racial interaction in a highly segregated society (Buffington 2005). As segregation in the United States was strong, so was it in sports. As time went on and segregation for African-Americans in U.S. society declined, they were able to join professional sports teams. Athletes such as Jack Johnson who won the heavyweight boxing title in 1908, or Jackie Robinson who broke the color barrier in the Major League of Baseball in 1947 were African-Americans whose athletic accomplishments created tremendous breakthroughs for the integration of sports (Harrison 2000). As U.S. society gradually started allowing African-Americans to compete at the highest level of competition in all sports, several stereotypes about African- Americans followed them into their integration in sports. At first, historical belief was that African-Americans were inferior physically. However, after Jesse Owens won for Olympic gold medals in 1936, the philosophy, theory, and belief of many in society is that African-Americans are just naturally gifted. (Harrison 2000:108). Perhaps the most common stereotype about African-American athletes throughout the history of modern sports is that they are physically gifted, yet lack strong mental and cognitive abilities. This has led to the media portraying African-American athletes as having a lack of leadership skills, leading to coaches not entrusting them with positions of leadership in the sport. A main example of this is the quarterback position in American football. According to Buffington (2005) The now-outmoded system presented stereotypes about Black athleticism and mental ability as contradictory to the requirements for succeeding as a quarterback and, thus, resulted in the virtual exclusion of African-Americans from the position of quarterback as a logical outcome. (p. 20). Because the quarterback position is widely regarded as the most crucial leadership position in sports, it is no surprise that the position is dominated by white male athletes. There are 32 teams in the National Football League, and each team can have up to 3 quarterbacks on the roster, for a total of 96 quarterbacks in the NFL. According to Mercurio and Filak (2010), in January 2007, while almost 70% of the league was made up of African-American players (p. 57), only 18 of the 96 NFL quarterbacks were African-American. Published by Skyline - The Big Sky Undergraduate Journal,

4 Skyline - The Big Sky Undergraduate Journal, Vol. 4 [2016], Iss. 1, Art. 5 Since the majority of players in the NFL are African-American athletes, it is important to investigate why there is such a lack of African-American athletes at the most prestigious position in the sport that requires the athlete to possess great leadership skill and mental abilities in order to be successful. The way the media portrays African-American quarterbacks influences not only the way team owners, coaches, and other players view them, it also has an effect on how society depicts African-Americans. Therefore, this research paper focuses on the following question: Does the media still depict African-American quarterbacks differently from their white counterparts and if so, in what ways? This study used a content analysis of Super Bowl 50, which featured a team led by an African- American quarterback facing off against a white quarterback. Taking into account the previous research on media portrayals of the African-American athlete and quarterback more specifically, the expectation was to find that the media negatively depicts African-American athletes as lacking the mental, cognitive, and leadership abilities necessary for being a successful quarterback, while only possessing strong physical capabilities. Literature Review Previous research has shown that the media depicts African-American athletes as being gifted physically but deficient mentally. According to Murrell and Curtis (1994) the quarterback position is regarded as being the leader of the team and often functions as a coaches surrogate on the field. African-American athletes are seen by the media as effective in instructive, reflex-oriented positions. Because of the leadership role, this stereotype of the Black athlete performing well at the position is inconsistent (Murrell and Curtis 1994:225). Because of this depiction of the African-American athlete by the media and previous coaches, modern coaches and draft experts very often rate African-American quarterbacks very high in areas of physical abilities but very low in areas of cognitive abilities while rating white quarterbacks high in mental abilities and leadership skills but lower in physical ability areas (Bigler and Jeffries 2008). According to Bigler and Jeffries (2008) No other position on the football field is expected to demonstrate, as much leadership, intelligence, and poise than that of the quarterback, attributes that run counter to the prevailing sentiment about black mentality (p. 122). The depiction of African-American quarterbacks by the media leads to an absence of them in the sport of football. It is a direct reflection of American society in which the leadership spots such as political figures, government officials and CEO s of major corporations are majority white males. The nearer a position is to where the ball usually is, the less likely a black will occupy it; the more responsibility or control involved in a position, the less likely a black will play it. (Harrison 2000:108). Furthermore, football announcers perpetuate this stereotype of African-American quarterbacks with their commentary during 2

5 Armstrong: Stereotypes of Race at the Quarterback Position games. Their attributions credit the innate physical ability of African-American players, while crediting hard work and cognitive ability more often for white players. (Niven 2005:688). As mentioned earlier, African-American athletes are viewed as being successful in positions where natural ability and reflexes dominate while white athletes on the other hand are looked at by the media as inferior in these positions but superior in positions requiring cognitive abilities. In fact Pitts and Yost (2012) found that African-American quarterbacks at the high school level are more likely to change positions at the collegiate level than any other position. Also, white running backs, a position that largely depends on physical ability and reflexes, are highly likely to switch positions at the collegiate level. These two positions are the most highly segregated positions in the sport of football and are clear examples of how college scouts depict talent based off of the perceptions American media give athletes (Pitts and Yost 2012). The media has perpetuated these stereotypes to the point where some athletes at a young age are never given a chance to excel at a specific position due to these prejudice views instilled into our society over the past century. Methods The basis of the analysis conducted for this study was the television broadcast of Super Bowl 50 through CBS, replayed on the website YouTube, a community video-sharing website. The presentation of Super Bowl 50 aired for 3 ½ hours and included commentary from two sports announcers. Based off of previous studies and questions about the subject of how African-American quarterbacks are depicted by the media, the content analysis of Super Bowl 50 was conducted by examining the announcers comments about Cam Newton, the African-American quarterback for the Carolina Panthers, and comparing these comments to those made about Peyton Manning, the opposing white quarterback for the Denver Broncos. The content analysis of this event was broken down into six main categories: (1) Physical or Mental -comments made about the quarterback's physical talents, such as arm strength and mobility; and comments about their mental capabilities such as knowledge of the playbook or making the proper read of the defenses coverage before the ball is snapped. For example, Cam Newton is known for his superior arm strength (physical ability) while Peyton Manning is known for his advanced knowledge of the game through film study (mental ability). Published by Skyline - The Big Sky Undergraduate Journal,

6 Skyline - The Big Sky Undergraduate Journal, Vol. 4 [2016], Iss. 1, Art. 5 (2) Accolades -comments made about each quarterbacks past accomplishments and athletic achievements over the course of their football career. For example, the announcer commenting on Cam Newton's college career where he won both the Heisman Trophy and the National Championship, or his NFL success such as accommodating for over 40 touchdowns for his team and winning the Most Valuable Player Award this season counted as Accolades. One example used for Peyton Manning was his Super Bowl winning season where he was granted MVP honors for the game. (3) Compliments - comments made praising the quarterback for his actions, performance, and character both off and on the field. Examples of these comments on the field are when the announcer compliments the accuracy of a pass made by the quarterback, his decision-making, his ability to escape the pocket and extend the play, etc. Examples of these comments off the field can be when the announcer compliments a quarterback on their positive influence in the community, displaying good character and sportsmanship in interviews, or good leadership skills in the locker room with the football team. (4) Critiques -comments made negatively judging either quarterbacks performance or blaming them for a bad play. An example of this type of comment is if the quarterback throws an incomplete pass and the announcers deem that it was the result of a bad pass made or a poor decision made by the quarterback. Just as the category "Compliments" does, the category of "Critiques" will also include comments made about his actions, performance, and character both on and off the field as well, only this time in a negative viewing of the act. (5) Ignored -number of times a positive play was made by the quarterback in which he was not given credit for. In order for the content analysis of the "Ignored" category to be possible, I defined it only as plays that accumulated for 20 yards or more made by the quarterback that he did not receive any credit for by the announcers. In the National Football League, 20+ yard plays are considered 'big plays' and are usually almost always displayed as highlights on Sports Center and other media coverage from that specific game. For an announcer to not give a quarterback credit for these 'big plays' in which he is involved in is very unlikely and highly uncharacteristic of them. The last category taken into account in the content analysis was (6) Age - the age of the quarterback. The reason the number of times the age of the quarterback was commented on was of interest was because of the large age gap between the young African-American quarterback and the older white quarterback playing in the last game of his career, ages 26 and 39 years old respectively. Because of the prestige of Peyton Manning s career and how rare it is for a 39 year old to be playing in the NFL, his age was mentioned quite often. 4

7 Armstrong: Stereotypes of Race at the Quarterback Position In order to see if the announcers credited his success and longevity of his career to either his physical prowess or strong mental abilities, content analysis was gathered of these comments. Since Manning s Age comments were used in the content analysis, Newton s Age comments were also kept as well as means for comparison. For comments made about the two opposing quarterbacks, the comment was coded into the category that best described it. Every single comment made about each quarterback during the full 3 ½ hour Super Bowl presentation was taken into account and coded. Results After taking into account every single comment made by the sports commentators-for both opposing quarterbacks Cam Newton and Peyton Manningthe findings suggest that the comments made by the announcers were in fact a direct correlation to the stereotypes mentioned in the previous studies about African-American and white quarterbacks. The evidence gathered supports the hypothesis proposed that the media continues to focus more on African-American quarterbacks athleticism and natural talent and less on their mental and cognitive abilities. In general, the announcers comments made about the African-American quarterback Cam Newton were focused on his athletic abilities. On the other hand, comments made about Peyton Manning were strictly about his mental abilities. A cross-comparison of both the totals of the commentator s comments made for each quarterback reveals that the African-American quarterback was discussed more often than the white quarterback, with 32 and 26 comments made for each of them respectively. Table 1 highlights the comparisons of the different types of comments. In the "Physical/Mental" category, there were six comments made about Newton s physical abilities, and none (0) coded as being about his mental abilities. For the white quarterback, Peyton Manning, the announcer s comments focused on his mental capabilities more than his physical capabilities (4 comments Mental; 0 comments Physical). Therefore, every time Cam Newton was commented on his play, it was solely about his athleticism and never about his brilliant mind for the game. Manning's comments on the other hand were based on the amount of film he studies, his ability to make his pre-snap adjustments and also his decision-making. Published by Skyline - The Big Sky Undergraduate Journal,

8 Skyline - The Big Sky Undergraduate Journal, Vol. 4 [2016], Iss. 1, Art. 5 As for "Age", the white quarterback dominated the category (6 comments total) while the African-American quarterback s age was only mentioned as to be compared to his counterpart (3 comments total). Peyton Manning's 18 year career was the main topic of discussion within the "Age" comments. The announcers commented how Peyton's mental abilities were the reason behind the longevity of his career stating that "his focus, dedication, and work ethic are what has allowed him to be successful for so long". The comments regarding Cam Newton in the "Age" category were for the most part used to compare his statistics to Peyton Manning's statistics when he was at that age in his career. For the record, Cam Newton has statistically accomplished more than Peyton Manning did in comparison to the first five years of their NFL careers. In regards to the "Accolades" category, Cam Newton (7 comments total) stayed close with Peyton Manning (8 comments total). Cam Newton's phenomenal college career was constantly mentioned in these comments as well as being the 1 st overall pick in the 2011 NFL draft and becoming the league's Most Valuable Player in the current NFL season. As for Peyton Manning, the NFL records he has set throughout his career as well as his performance in his 2007 Super Bowl 41 win that led to him winning MVP of the game were the comments made for him in the "Accolades" category. Both the African-American and white quarterback received the exact same amount of comments in the "Compliments" category, both scoring at 6 comments each. Of course, Cam Newton's compliments he received were mostly all about his athleticism, where they even showed a chart which showed Cam Newton's top speed reached this season in miles per hour and then compared it to the defenders of the opposing defense. This was used to showcase Cam Newton's phenomenal physical abilities. Although the "Compliments" comments made were even for each quarterback, Cam Newton's compliments he received only focused on his athleticism, never receiving a compliment for his mental abilities. Peyton Manning's compliments were received in regards to his mental preparation before games and how successful he has become at predicting defensive play calls. On the other hand, the comments each player received in the "Critiques" category had a tremendous difference. African-American quarterback Cam Newton received 10 comments in this category, while Peyton Manning was only criticized twice (2 comments). On top of this, a few of the critiques Cam Newton received were simply unjust and wrong. For example, in the second half of the game, Cam Newton squeezed a pass through a small window in the defense, hitting his receiver directly in his hands. The ball ricocheted off of his receiver s hands and directly into the hands of a defender, resulting in an interception. Upon 6

9 Armstrong: Stereotypes of Race at the Quarterback Position watching the replay one of the announcers immediately blamed Cam Newton for this interception, stating that he "threw the ball too hard" for the receiver. This is unusually hard to imagine, seeing as these professional wide receivers are paid multi-million dollar contracts to make this routine catch every single day. Later in the game, Peyton Manning eventually throws an interception that was a poor decision on his behalf, blatantly throwing the ball directly to a defender. Instead of criticizing him, the announcer actually complimented Manning for his previous streak of consecutive passes without an interception that just now came to an end, instead of blaming him for an interception that allowed the opposing team another chance to potentially win the game. Furthermore, in the category Ignored, Peyton Manning received credit from the announcers for each 'big play' he was a part of, however it was a different story for Cam Newton who had four 'big plays' that were ignored. On one play he scrambled and ran for 20 yards and stepped out of bounds and not one comment was made about Cam Newton. The announcers simply mentioned that the Panthers, no credit given to Cam Newton, picked up a first down. Late in the game, Cam Newton had a string of three 20+ yard pass plays throughout two consecutive drives where the comments by the announcer were about "what a great route the receiver just ran" or how good the blocking was on that play. Cam Newton was not credited for his involvement in these plays like his teammates were. Peyton Manning had no similar big plays ignored. Table 1. Comments Made for Each Quarterback Cam Newton Peyton Manning Physical; Mental: 6 ; 0 0 ; 4 Accolades 7 8 Compliments 6 6 Critiques 10 2 Age 3 6 Total Published by Skyline - The Big Sky Undergraduate Journal,

10 Skyline - The Big Sky Undergraduate Journal, Vol. 4 [2016], Iss. 1, Art. 5 Discussion This study supports past research that shows the media depicting the African- American quarterback as having above average natural physical abilities, but not having the mental, cognitive, or leadership abilities needed to have success at the quarterback position (Murrell and Curtis 1994). The main statistic of how a quarterback s success in the National Football League is judged and decided on is based off of his quarterback rating; a formula that combines a quarterbacks completions, passing attempts, passing yards, passing touchdowns, and interceptions to give him a score that determines his success and productivity rating as a quarterback. This formula was invented several decades ago and is clearly outdated. A major problem with this formula is that it does not take into account quarterback rushing yards or rushing touchdowns, which are some quarterbacks best assets (Berri and Simmons 2009). African-American quarterbacks who are successful running quarterbacks are severely disadvantaged on their success rating because of the unjust quarterback rating system, which in turn perpetuates the stereotype that African-Americans lack the mental capabilities needed to produce well at quarterback. The evidence for these statements that the media uses is of course the quarterback rating. As seen in the results above, the white quarterback in Super Bowl 50 s age was mentioned more than the African-American quarterback. This was predicted, due to Peyton Manning s relatively advanced age. The more important part of this statistic is that when the sports commentators did mention the white quarterback s age, they credited his mental capabilities and work ethic for allowing him to continue playing for so long at such a high level of success. However, African- American players who are of old age [the average NFL career is 4 years long (Harrison 2000:109), therefore any player who plays 10+ years is extremely old ] usually receive compliments from the media regarding their physical prowess such as staying in shape, being healthy, and taking care of their body for several seasons. This directly correlates to Niven s (2005) study, claiming that success by white quarterbacks is more often than not credited to their mental abilities while African-American athletes, and more specifically quarterbacks, have the vast majority of their success accredited to their physical abilities by the media in the past. This study supports that American society and the media in the past and present stereotype African-American athletes as not having the mental capabilities necessary for the leadership role of quarterback, instead only relying primarily on their physical capabilities. Therefore, it is important that future research critically analyzes the role the media plays in continuing to exclude African-American athletes from playing quarterback. 8

11 Armstrong: Stereotypes of Race at the Quarterback Position References Berri, David J. and Rob Simmons Catching a Draft: on the Process of Selecting Quarterbacks in the National Football League Amateur Draft. Journal of Productivity Analysis 35(1): Bigler, Matthew and Judson L. Jeffries An Amazing Specimen : NFL Draft Experts Evaluations Of Black Quarterbacks. Journal of African American Studies 12(2): Buffington, Daniel Contesting Race On Sundays: Making Meaning out of the Rise of Black Quarterbacks. Sociology of Sport Journal 21: Harrison, Keith C Brains, Brawn, And Pigskin Balls: Racism and Athletic Manifestation in Society. Counterpoints 107: Retrieved ( ). Mercurio, Eugenio and Vincent F. Filak Roughing The Passer: The Framing of Black and White Quarterbacks Prior to the NFL Draft. Howard Journal of Communications 21(1): Murrell, A. J. and E. M. Curtis Causal Attributions Of Performance For Black And White Quarterbacks In The Nfl: A Look At The Sports Pages. Journal of Sport & Social Issues 18(3): Niven, D Race, Quarterbacks, And the Media: Testing the Rush Limbaugh Hypothesis. Journal of Black Studies 35(5): Pitts, Joshua D. and Daniel M. Yost Racial Position Segregation In Intercollegiate Football: Do Players Become More Racially Segregated as They Transition from High School to College? The Review of Black Political Economy 40(2): Published by Skyline - The Big Sky Undergraduate Journal,