Sports
The NFL Draft confirms that black quarterbacks are the face of the league
DETROIT – For the second time in as a few years, two Black quarterbacks are expected to be chosen amongst the top three picks in the three-day NFL Draft that begins Thursday, and three could go to the first round.
Over the last two NFL seasons, African-American signal-callers have been chosen as first- and second-team Associated Press All-Pro quarterbacks, and black passers have won each the AP League MVP and Super Bowl MVP awards. The best player in the league is a black quarterback. The league’s best rookie is a black point guard. After being sidelined attributable to discrimination for much of the NFL’s history, black quarterbacks now dominate skilled sports’ most successful league, with USC’s Caleb Williams, LSU’s Jayden Daniels and Michael Penix Jr. from the University of Washington are desirous to join this talented group.
Williams, Daniels and Penix, college stars, are coveted by teams trying to excel in top sports positions. This is a far cry from what most black quarterbacks have faced in the draft, and nobody can articulate it higher than Warren Moon.
As a senior at Washington in the 1977–78 season, Moon led the team to a conference championship, helped it win the Rose Bowl and was named conference co-player of the 12 months. However, Moon was not drafted into the NFL, and he only got his probability to play quarterback in the league after he broke passing records and won multiple championships in the Canadian Football League.
The NFL was founded in 1920, “so when you stop and think about… as long as the NFL has been around, what happened to me and many other very talented players wasn’t that long ago” – Moon, the only black quarterback enshrined in the Pro Hall of Fame Football, he recently told Andscape in a telephone interview.
“It really has been like that for all of us for a long time. And now everyone knows the reason: it was simply racism and stereotypes. What we’ve seen recently, especially with so many players drafted over the last 10 years, means we’re now desirable in the draft. The reason for this is also obvious: our success.”
In the previous 87 iterations of this process (the first NFL draft was held in 1936), only 28 African American quarterbacks were chosen in the first round, and none were chosen until Doug Williams finally kicked down the door in 1978. However, 16 have been chosen as of 2011 ., including one in each draft except 2016 and 2022. In the 1999 draft, which marked the first time that as many as three black passers were chosen, Donovan McNabb and Akili Smith were chosen second and third overall, respectively. In the 2023 draft, the second to feature as many as three African-American quarterbacks chosen in the opening round, Bryce Young was chosen first overall, C.J. Stroud second overall, and Anthony Richardson fourth overall.
On Thursday night, it will be shocking if the Chicago Bears, who own the first overall pick in the draft, didn’t select Caleb Williams, who was the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner during his time at USC. Daniels, who put up eye-opening stats as each a passer and runner at LSU , won the 2023 Heisman Trophy. He is widely considered a top-three pick. Last season, Penix, who throws the scenic deep ball, led Washington to the College Football Playoff National Championship game, where it lost to Michigan and finished 14-1. Despite his injury history, Penix, thanks largely to his standout days as a professional (he has demonstrated elite arm talent in addition to impressive athleticism), is now widely viewed as a high-round prospect, three NFL player personnel officials told Andscape.
Williams, Daniels and Penix will join the NFL in a season by which Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, a three-time Super Bowl winner and three-time Super Bowl MVP, is the league’s MVP. Under Mahomes’ direction, the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs became the first team since the New England Patriots in 2004 and 2005 to win back-to-back Super Bowl championships.
Mahomes will turn 29 in September.
For the second time in five seasons, Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson is the reigning AP League MVP. He is 27 years old. The Houston Texans’ Stroud, the landslide winner of last season’s AP Offensive Rookie of the Year award, is the league’s fastest rising superstar. He will turn 23 in October.
The fact is that black quarterbacks have turn into the face of the NFL.
According to team officials, coaches and current and former players interviewed by Andscape, with the enormous pressure on football managers and coaches to win, green really is the important color influencing decisions in today’s draft. That established, given their long-standing position at the bottom of the league, the rise of black quarterbacks over the last 10 years is as surprising because it is noteworthy, though to not Doug Williams.
“We (pioneering black quarterbacks) at all times knew this is able to occur. It was only a matter of opportunity,” Andscape Williams, the first black quarterback to begin in the Super Bowl and win the game’s MVP award, said recently. “We at all times had guys who could do what these young guys are doing now, but they did not have the probability to do it.
“Looking at the draft right now, no team can afford to let go of a guy who has the potential to do what a lot of these guys are doing. And not only (appetizers). When you look at so many of these teams now, you’re starting to see more and more guys getting a chance to play as subs. It’s a big difference. For a long time, boys who could become stars had a chance. But you wouldn’t see us in these replacement positions. Now yes. This is a big sign of change.”
Just have a look at the AFC North.
Jackson, Deshaun Watson of the Cleveland Browns and Russell Wilson of the Pittsburgh Steelers are the projected starters for his or her respective teams. The other two quarterbacks on the Ravens’ roster are also black. Jameis Winston is predicted to play behind Watson in Cleveland. Justin Fields, the Bears’ 2021 first-round draft pick, is Wilson’s backup in Pittsburgh.
For years, quarterback guru Quincy Avery saw this coming.
The groundwork for change began at the local level, said the renowned trainer.
“We’re finally seeing Black quarterbacks getting opportunities at every stage of their development,” Avery told Andscape. “Now we see guys who’ve had the opportunity, irrespective of what part of the country they arrive from, to play quarterback since they were (very young). This is something we’ve not seen before.
“Later, as they moved up (in high school and college), the younger boys suddenly saw that older boys who looked like them were getting a chance to move up. So they just expected to get the same opportunities. This is not a surprise to them. We see the future right now. “We will soon see a league full of black quarterbacks.”
As the saying goes, the die has been solid. He was once prevented from playing the game, now black quarterbacks run it. Given the trends in the NFL Draft, do not be surprised in the event that they proceed like this for a protracted, very long time.
Sports
In 2025, the Basketball Africa League play-offs will move to South Africa
The 2025 Basketball Africa League season will feature a brand new venue for the finals and playoffs and will also start at a brand new location.
The BAL 2025 Playoffs and Finals, scheduled for June 14, 2025, will happen at the recent home in Pretoria, South Africa. This will be the first time the BAL playoffs and finals haven’t been held in Kigali, Rwanda. The BAL 2025 season will also debut in a brand new location in Rabat, Morocco on April 5, 2025. During the BAL 2025 season, 12 of the best club teams from 12 African countries will play 48 matches in Rabat, Kigali and Dakar, Senegal, before traveling to Pretoria for play- offs.
“Over the first four seasons of BAL, we have seen tremendous growth in on-court competition, attendance and engagement from fans and partners in Africa and around the world,” BAL president Amadou Gallo Fall said in a press release. “Our groundbreaking fifth season will build on this momentum and continue to showcase the level of talent and passion for basketball in Africa, including through the first BAL games in Morocco and the first BAL Finals in South Africa.”
The 12 teams will be divided again into three conferences of 4 teams each. The group stage of the Kalahari Conference will happen from April 5 to 13, 2025 in Rabat. The group stage of the Sahara Conference will be held in Dakar from April 26 to May 4, 2025. The group stage of the Nile Conference will be held in Kigali from May 17 to 25, 2025. Eight teams from the three conferences will qualify for the play-offs in Pretoria, which will start on June 6 and end with the BAL 2025 finals.
“The Kalahari conference marks another expansion of BAL into a new country on our continent and we are more than satisfied,” FIBA Africa president Anibal Manave said in a press release. “The competition continues to grow each year, providing greater exposure for our sport and helping to raise the level of basketball in Africa, making the league increasingly competitive.”
National champions from Angola, Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal and Tunisia routinely qualify for the BAL. The remaining five teams are from FIBA Africa’s Road to the BAL qualifying tournaments.
In the 2024 BAL season, Petro de Luanda of Angola became the first team from Sub-Saharan Africa to win the championship. According to BAL, the 2024 BAL season reached fans in 214 countries and territories in 17 languages, set an attendance record of greater than 120,000 fans in the 4 host countries and generated greater than 1.2 billion views across the NBA and BAL social media channels.
Sports
NFL star Terrell Owens signs a contract with Michael Strahan’s talent agency
NFL Hall of Fame receiver and podcast host Terrell Owens has signed with a talent agency to further strengthen his claims within the entertainment game.
According to , Owens was signed by SMAC Entertainment, headed by host and NFL Hall of Famer Michael Strahan and his business partner Constance Schwartz-Morini.
NFL insider Jordan Schultz has also joined SMAC Entertainment.
“We are excited to add TO and Jordan to the SMAC family. They are both at the top of their game and set the standard in their industry,” Schwartz-Morini said in a written statement. “TO and Jordan have already brought an infectious energy to our team, and we are excited to help them realize their vision for careers in media, business and branding.”
A five-time first-team All-Pro and six-time Pro Bowler, Owens played for the San Francisco 49ers, Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas Cowboys, Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals. In 2018, he was finally inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
A member of the 2000 NFL All-Decade Team, Owens finished his profession with 1,078 catches for 15,934 yards, 14.8 yards per catch and 153 touchdowns, rating third all-time in receiving yards and touchdowns.
Since retiring from skilled soccer in 2012, Owens has already made several moves. He has appeared in several movies and tv shows, including “,” and in addition had his own reality show, “, on VH1.
He currently co-hosts the podcast with former NFL player and sports analyst Shannon Sharpe.
SMAC Entertainment is home to stars similar to rapper and actor Common, Wiz Khalifa, Strahan, Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders and current NFL players similar to Stefon Diggs and DK Metcalf.
Sports
Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker brings an NBA championship desire with his Olympic experience
The gold medal went to the USA Basketball team. Mission completed on the 2024 Paris Games. U.S. men’s basketball coach Steve Kerr just answered his final query during his final news conference on Aug. 10 after his team defeated France within the gold medal game.
However, before leaving the stage of the press conference in Paris, Kerr stopped to deliver an unsolicited message to media around the globe.
“Devin Booker is an amazing basketball player. Nobody asked about him. He was our unsung MVP. I just desired to say that,” Kerr said.
The “underrated MVP” compliment meant so much to the Phoenix Suns guard.
“It meant everything. No one really asked him,” Booker recently told Andscape. “That was probably something that was weighing on his mind throughout the entire process. A 12 months ago I said what I desired to do for this team and what we desired to do for the country.
“It was a lot larger than all of us. Survival was something we’d discuss for the remainder of our lives.
The USA Basketball team was centered around NBA star icons LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant. There has also been some discussion amongst media and fans in regards to the lack of playing time for Jayson Tatum and, to a lesser extent, Tyrese Haliburton. Lost within the shuffle was the all-around, unselfish play of sharpshooter Booker wearing the armband.
Booker was fourth in scoring for the U.S., averaging 11.7 points, 3.3 assists and a couple of.2 three-pointers made early in all six Olympics, and likewise had the perfect plus/minus (plus-130) for an American. Kerr was impressed with Booker’s deal with a difficult defense, regardless that he is thought for his offense, ball movement and the way he has adjusted to not being one in every of the highest options on offense.
“I just understood what was at stake,” Booker said. “I’m proud to be from this country. I’m happy with playing basketball. Even though it wasn’t invented in America, we dominated for a very long time. Obviously the world is incredibly talented and the sport is growing, however it was just one other message to allow them to know who we’re.
Booker said he also learned in regards to the preparations from his all-star team, watching the preparations on and off the court. The 28-year-old added that he gained lifelong friendships.
“It’s cool to see that everyone has their own issues,” Booker said. “In my 10 years in the NBA, I’ve learned that you have to choose what you can use for yourself. But the level of detail, the attention to detail, the intensity – it’s all consistent across the board.”
As for Durant, Booker said the bond between the 2 Sun stars “is close and grows stronger every day.” They live about five minutes from one another within the Phoenix area and commonly spend time at home and on the road. Most recently, Booker had to steer the Suns without Durant, who was sidelined with an injury.
The amazing Durant averaged 27.6 points, 6.6 rebounds and three.4 assists, which were tops for the Suns. However, the 14-time NBA All-Star has been sidelined since November 8 with a left calf strain. Suns players Bradley Beal (calf) and Jusuf Nurkic (ankle) were also sidelined. The Suns are 1-5 without Durant, which incorporates 4 straight losses.
Booker and Suns sans Durant’s next rivals shall be the New York Knicks on Wednesday evening (ESPN, 10 p.m. ET). Over the last six games, Booker is averaging 24.1 points, shooting 43.2% from the sphere and making 16 of 43 three-pointers. Suns guard Tyus Jones said there was numerous pressure on Booker offensively due to the injury.
“We’re asking a lot of Book,” Jones said after Monday’s 109-99 loss to the visiting Orlando Magic. “It’s numerous pressure for him. We are very focused on it. They are physical with him, holding him and grabbing him, throwing two or three bodies at him all night long. So he’s got so much on his plate and we just need to proceed to seek out ways to get him open within the moments we will and proceed to assist him when other players are taking shots and making plays.
Booker currently has two Olympic gold medals, 4 NBA All-Star appearances and one NBA Finals appearance. The only thing missing from the Suns’ second-leading all-time scorer is an NBA championship. Since the Suns joined the NBA as an expansion team in 1968, they’ve yet to win a title.
After experiencing the joys of winning a gold medal, Booker as an NBA champion wants the gold Larry O’Brien NBA Championship Trophy much more.
“Most of the guys that were there did it,” Booker said of his Olympic teammates who were NBA champions. “They were champions. This is standard for them. Anything lower than that, they need nothing to do with it. It’s contagious…
“That’s all I want. That’s all I want.”
-
Press Release8 months ago
CEO of 360WiSE Launches Mentorship Program in Overtown Miami FL
-
Business and Finance6 months ago
The Importance of Owning Your Distribution Media Platform
-
Press Release7 months ago
U.S.-Africa Chamber of Commerce Appoints Robert Alexander of 360WiseMedia as Board Director
-
Business and Finance8 months ago
360Wise Media and McDonald’s NY Tri-State Owner Operators Celebrate Success of “Faces of Black History” Campaign with Over 2 Million Event Visits
-
Ben Crump7 months ago
Another lawsuit accuses Google of bias against Black minority employees
-
Fitness7 months ago
Black sportswear brands for your 2024 fitness journey
-
Theater8 months ago
Applications open for the 2020-2021 Soul Producing National Black Theater residency – Black Theater Matters
-
Ben Crump8 months ago
Henrietta Lacks’ family members reach an agreement after her cells undergo advanced medical tests