Editor’s Note: The following article is an editorial and the opinions expressed are those of the author. Learn more opinions on theGrio.
Stereotypes come in all shapes and sizes, from those who are super athletic and take calls from their dads in prison, to those who are super smart and take advanced STEM classes in college. The problem arises when we attribute such simplistic concepts to a group of people, ignoring the fact that every group has members with similar attributes.
Rookie NFL quarterback CJ Stroud grew up near Hollywood, under circumstances often depicted in films involving young black men. He’s the star athlete whose life changed at age 13 when his father went to prison. Struggles ensued, but mom held on for the family, and now Stroud has gone from rookie of the year speech to Most Valuable Player discussions.
Where is the anonymous NFL executive who issued a “red alert” before the draft? He warned teams to avoid Stroud because he had miserable performances. a standardized test. Fortunately, the leaked score didn’t stop Houston from drafting Stroud with the No. 2 pick, and it didn’t stop Stroud from torching recruit success records through nine matches.
But have you heard that of the young black man from a two-parent home (the two leaders) which eventually became a aerospace engineer and the starting quarterback of the Minnesota Vikings? Josh Dobbs, one of the smartest players ever at the most mentally demanding position, is regularly praised for his intelligence. This couldn’t be further from the standard mold that’s popular in writers’ rooms and central castings. Yet Dobbs is the protagonist who is 2-0 with Minnesota in a absolutely wild tale.
The script has flipped in an unprecedented way, moving into the era of the black QB. Players in the NFL’s most crucial, cerebral and famous spot are doused in melanin, from a variety of multi-dimensional backgrounds.
Stroud and Dobbs were part of a recording 14 Black quarterbacks who started Week 1, including this year’s No. 1 pick (Bryce Young) and No. 4 pick (Anthony Richardson). Stroud is a fundamental part of Houston’s rebuild under rookie head coach DeMeco Ryans. Dobbs was a seven-year veteran with his sixth team, the Arizona Cardinals, who acquired him from the Cleveland Browns two weeks earlier. The Vikings became his seventh team two weeks ago.
Expectations for both QBs varied widely going into the season, but they blew their projections out of the water. Plus, both men offer case studies on how to break stereotypes that don’t fit.
Black quarterbacks are expected to be willing and capable scramblers, but Stroud didn’t run much at Ohio State, where he threw to future first-round receivers like Garrett Wilson, Chris Olave and Jaxon Smith-Njigba. In addition to his score at Cognitive test S2, critics questioned its ability to take off and scamper. He had an excellent explanation. “When guys are open, you give your guys the ball or they look at you like you’re crazy,” he said shortly before the draft. “If you’re open, you’re going to get the ball.”
Stroud doesn’t have the same caliber of receivers in Houston, but he has led the Texans to five wins in their last seven games. He’s passed for 826 passing yards and six touchdowns over the past two weeks, including back-to-back game-winning drives in the final seconds.
Dobbs has been more willing to use his legs, but the last two weeks have been a whirlwind, requiring more intellect than athleticism. He didn’t know the plays or names of most of his teammates when he was put into action on Nov. 5, five days after arriving. But he replaced the injured starter early in the match and rallied the team to victory with 22 seconds remaining.
Head coach Kevin O’Connell was in Dobbs’ ear before every snap, giving the newcomer advice along with the play call. “I hope people understand that what Josh Dobbs has able to accomplish was very, very special, and I’m really proud of him,” O’Connell said. “What he was able to do in five days was as impressive as anything I’ve seen a quarterback do.” Then Dobbs picked up another win last Sunday in his first start for the Vikings.
Nicknamed “the Passtronaut“, by NASA Dobbs is the NFL’s feel-good story of the year, big enough to be Taylor Swift Treatment on the league’s social media pages. We could have bet on his success – in football or in space – based on his upbringing. His supportive parents emphasized academics and eliminated several colleges until Tennessee committed to welcoming a quarterback studying aeronautical engineering.
Stroud’s path could have easily diverged in 2016 when his father, Coleridge Bernard Stroud III, pleaded guilty to carjacking, kidnapping and theft in a drug-related incident that earned him a 38-year sentence. years to life in prison, in part because of California law. Three strikes law. Stroud’s family nearly became homeless at one point and spent his high school years in a small apartment above a storage unit.
“He had a choice when his father left”, Kimberly Stroud told Sports Illustrated. “He was going to let it motivate him and become the best, or he was going to succumb to it and become the image of a kid whose parents did something they shouldn’t do.”
Stroud and his father did not speak for more than five years but have since reconciled. Today, Stroud, once reluctant to talk about his father’s incarceration, advocates for prison reform. He addressed the topic on November 5 after breaking the NFL rookie record for most passing yards in a game.
“Our criminal justice system is not okay, and that’s something I should probably speak out on a little more, because what he’s going through is not okay,” » said Stroud. “It’s not just my father’s situation, but the entire criminal justice system is corrupt.”
Whether it’s prison reform or rocket science, Stroud and Dobbs don’t stick to sports. They will not be put in a box.
And we love it.
Deron Snyder, of Brooklyn, is an award-winning columnist who lives near DC and is committed to Alpha at HU-You Know! He reaches high, reaches low, advances, pushes, follows and throws. Got it? Get more at blackdoorventures.com/deron.
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