Anthony Richardson Turns Question About Top Quarterbacks' Race Into Answer About Relationships
KANSAS CITY -- This NFL draft saw three black quarterbacks selected within the first four picks of the first round and, yes, that is the first time that's happened in league history.
And the reason I know is because a reporter asked Bryce Young about it. And Young said he was proud to be part of history.
Then the same reporter asked C.J. Stroud about it. And Stroud said he believes it "inspired a lot of black children" and then added people such as "Warren Moon, Randall Cunningham, Jackie Robinson, Magic Johnson, all the people who paved the way for our culture ... I hope I can be as special as them one day."
Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud (7) gestures to his receivers during the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl college football playoff game between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Georgia Bulldogs on December 31st, 2022 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, GA. (Photo by Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Young, Stroud, Richardson Bonded
The same reporter went for the hat trick when he asked Anthony Richardson, who is also black, about having black quarterbacks go No. 1, No. 2 and No. 4 overall, which is where Richardson was selected by the Indianapolis Colts.
Except that, unlike the other two, Richardson didn't bite on the race question because for the former University of Florida star it's apparently not about race. It's about relationships.
"It feels good, but not even because we're black QBs, you know?" Richardson said. "It's just because we were selected. This is something we've worked for our whole lives. Coming up with those guys, it feels good.
"Bryce and C.J., we were at the Elite 11 together. So we have memories and we've been working together and battling with each other throughout this whole process. Even at the combine just chopping it up with those guys because hadn't seen them in awhile.
"You know, so, it's not the fact that we're black QBs. That's a blessing in itself, but just the fact we were selected, that's the most we can ask for right now."
Bryce Young #9 of the Alabama Crimson Tide reacts after throwing a touchdown pass during the fourth quarter of the Allstate Sugar Bowl against the Kansas State Wildcats at Caesars Superdome on December 31, 2022 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
Questions To Feed An Agenda
To be clear, there is no wrong answer by these athletes. They didn't walk into the interview room at the NFL draft and proclaim themselves members of any group other than the teams that selected them.
They were simply answering a leading question by a middle-aged reporter who obviously needed content to feed his identity politics agenda.
I find it curious the reporter didn't ask Young and Stroud about being perhaps the first born-again Christian quarterbacks to go No. 1 and No. 2 in the draft.
That's actually an identity both quarterbacks more eagerly confess, as Stroud did unprompted when he thanked "my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for the opportunity to be a Texan."
But even so, the whole division thing in football is outdated.
It's been 77 years since Kenny Washington broke the color barrier in the NFL. It'll soon be 40 years since that numbskull reporter at a Super Bowl XXII press conference asked Doug Williams how long he'd been a black quarterback.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers Head Coach Todd Bowles watches the action on the field during the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Training Camp on August 09, 2022 at the AdventHealth Training Center at One Buccaneer Place in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Anthony Richardson Answers Like Todd Bowles
But here we are at the 2023 NFL draft going with race questions instead of more pertinent inquiries about Young's size, or Stroud's ability to overcome adversity, or Richardson's college completion percentage.
You know, the questions whose answers will factor in career success while race does not.
It's great that Richardson flipped the script on the question and turned it to what football is really about: Love and respect for a teammate. Or even an opponent.
Tampa Bay coach Todd Bowles did the same thing last season when reporters tried to make his relationship with Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin about their shared race rather than their shared experiences and goals.
Richardson, like Bowles, showed himself to be a free thinker able to steer away from narrative and toward what he believes is truth.
He did it successfully in that moment Thursday night.
And now we can move on to what really matters: What's he going to accomplish for the Indianapolis Colts?