Lamar Jackson and the NFL’s Quarterback Double Standard
As the league looks to the future, the way many analysts talk about black players such as the Baltimore Ravens passer still belongs to an ugly past.
You’d be hard-pressed to find a player in the NFL who has had a better game this season than the Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson. In a 59–10 victory over the Miami Dolphins to kick off the Ravens’ schedule , Jackson completed 17 of 20 passes for 324 yards and five touchdowns. He zipped the ball to receivers on slant routes. He stepped into 80-plus-yard bombs. Maybe his most impressive throw came with the score already 21–0 and Baltimore driving once again into Miami territory, when Jackson loosed a deep pass with a snap of his wrist. Thirty-three yards later, the ball settled in the hands of the barely open receiver Willie Snead for another score..
