GENO SMITH FIGHTING THE FOOTBALL VERSION OF WHITE SKIN PRIVILEGE

GENO SMITH

The hometown Kansas City Chiefs have the first pick in the NFL draft.  They are not going to pick Geno Smith.  They are not going to pick a quarterback.

Now, I am not going to tell you the Chiefs (who should have changed their name and all the hokey pseudo Indian imagery long ago, but that's another story) aren't picking Smith because he is black, but...

It is amazing how hard it is to knock down the history of white supremacy and racism in sports, even in a sport with a high percentage of African American players like professional football, but there it is.  And I mean THERE IT IS.

Don't get me wrong, it could all be a coincidence that every time a black quarterback comes along, we read that there is something wrong with him from an off the field standpoint.  He's got a bad attitude.  He doesn't have a good work ethic.  He takes everything for granted.  He can't get along with his team mates.  He's got a chip on his shoulder.  He can't take instruction.  He doesn't understand the playbook.   He doesn't have the smarts, blah blah blah and blah blah.

Yeah, it could be a coincidence and I could be the Queen of England.

The stereotyping is absolutely incredible.  What century are we in?  Where am I?

I can't tell you that Geno Smith is the greatest quarterback ever or even if he will be a good NFL quarterback, but I can tell you there is absolutely no reason to think he is not a good guy who studies hard, works hard, plays to win, and plays for his team who has the talent and ability and brains and guts to lead a god damn football team.  I can tell you that.

But, hold on, Geno Smith isn't white, so...even though we have already had a fair sampling of damn good African American NFL quarterbacks, he still has to deal with racial bias in all its ugliness.  He still has to overcome the affirmative action for whites known as white skin privilege.

This is what Pro Football Weekly writer Nolan Nawrocki wrote about Geno Smith recently:

Not a student of the game. Nonchalant field presence — does not command respect from teammates and cannot inspire. Mild practice demeanor — no urgency. Not committed or focused — marginal work ethic. Interviewed poorly at the Combine and did not show an understanding of concepts on the white board. Opted not to compete at the Senior Bowl and has approached offseason training as if he has already arrived and it shows in his body with minimal muscle definition or strength. Has small hands and glaring ball security issues (32 career fumbles). Really struggled handling the snow in Pinstripe Bowl (took two safeties) and will be troubled by the elements. Needed to be coddled in college — cannot handle hard coaching.

A cross between Akili Smith and Aaron Brooks, Smith is a gimmick, overhyped product of the system lacking the football savvy, work habits and focus to cement a starting job and could drain energy from a QB room. Will be overdrafted and struggle to produce against NFL defensive complexities.

Are you kidding me?

I've read that Nawrocki just does this stuff to get pubicity.  I don't buy it.  It's in his history to write this crap.  Further, and unfortunately, he is far from the only sportswriter to write like this about Smith, far from the only sports talk radio buffoon to imply such about Smith, and way far from the only talk radio "listener" to agree.

When this white supremacist blather is so obvious that even a commentary in USA Today discusses it, well, its damn obvious.

Here, by the way, just for the heck of it all, are Geno Smith's career stats.

CAREER STATS
SEASON	CMP	ATT	YDS	CMP%	YPA	LNG	TD	INT	SACK	RAT
2012	369	518	4205	71.2	8.12	87	42	6	19	163.9
2011	346	526	4385	65.8	8.34	84	31	7	26	152.6
2010	241	372	2763	64.8	7.43	71	24	7	28	144.7
2009	32	49	309	65.3	6.31	33	1	1	5	120.9

NOTE: 

BEFORE ONE MORE PERSON SCREAMS AT ME ABOUT THIS, LET ME PUT RIGHT

HERE ON THIS PAGE WHAT I JUST RESPONDED TO ONE OF THE SCREAMERS:

"I believe I did not say the Chief will not (I know double negative)  take him because he is black, the "but" was for the rest of the article. You are not the first to comment to me this way. The Chief's aren't taking any quarterbacks with the first pick or any first round pick. They just got Alex Smith. I know this dude. However, I will "play the race card" as you put it for the article in general. AGAIN, I NEVER SAID THE CHIEF'S WERE NOT TAKING GENO SMITH DUE TO HIS RACE...I SAID, AND I QUOTE: 

"The hometown Kansas City Chiefs have the first pick in the NFL draft. They are not going to pick Geno Smith. They are not going to pick a quarterback.

Now, I am not going to tell you the Chiefs (who should have changed their name and all the hokey pseudo Indian imagery long ago, but that's another story) aren't picking Smith because he is black, but..." 

and again the "but" is the lead in for the rest of the article. The only freakin reason I mentioned the Chiefs is because I am in Kansas City. The Chief's have not drafted a QB with their first round pick since Todd Blackledge in 1983. They haven't developed their own QB...EVER."

What the Chief's are going to do is try and get rid of a left tackle who gave up one sack all of last year so that they feel good about drafting a left tackle to fill the hole...However, Miami and no one else is so stupid as to pay Brandon what he is asking...so they can just move the unhappy Mr. albert to right tackle...or maybe they will surprise me..."

So from USA Today to you, Scission presents:

 Geno Smith the latest to pay the black tax

Jarrett Bell, USA TODAY Sports

Not a student of the game. Not committed or focused. Marginal work ethic.

When a Pro Football Weekly scouting report on West Virginia quarterback Geno Smith surfaced recently, containing damning proclamations by analyst Nolan Nawrocki about the habits of the top-rated passer in the NFL draft, it made me shake my head.

Here we go again.

Two years ago, Cam Newton was slammed by Nawrocki for having a "fake smile" and setting a bad example while carrying a sense of entitlement.

Last year, in a Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel report, Robert Griffin III was knocked by unnamed scouts for how he "deals with people."

This is the same RGIII who has been nothing less than a class act while positioned, like Newton, as one of the NFL's marquee attractions for the future.

Now another African-American quarterback has some vicious stereotypes circulating about him that people who have gotten to know Smith insist couldn't be farther from the truth.

Never mind the 42 touchdown passes (against six interceptions) last season, behind a shaky offensive line. Forget that the kid, who completed 71.2% of his passes in 2012, is the type to be found studying film hours after throwing for six TDs, or that his coaches rave about his drive.

Geno Smith, too, has to pay a black tax.

Even in 2013, it's apparent that conditions remain in this society where analysis and opinions are seemingly clouded by racial bias. It's easy to slap a stereotypical label on a minority — from quarterbacks to the blue-collar men on the street — without the benefit of doubt.

Hopefully, as a group, NFL decision-makers are beyond this. Regardless, it's a shame that such garbage is put out there in the first place.

"It's like people make this stuff up," says Bucky Brooks, an analyst for NFL Network and NFL.com. "They are still perpetuating myths, using code words."

Warren Moon can relate. In 2006, Moon was the first African-American quarterback inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. When he came out of Washington as the Rose Bowl MVP in 1978, NFL people wanted him to switch positions. Instead, undrafted by the NFL, he tore up the Canadian Football League for six years with the Edmonton Eskimos before getting his NFL shot.

The knocks on Smith don't sit well with Moon.

"It sounds the same as two years ago," Moon told USA TODAY Sports. "It just shows that there are a lot of people in society who have the biases and stereotypes. And most of it is about your integrity or leadership or work ethic — all of these intangible things."

Smith is nobody's Andrew Luck or RGIII, but he is an undoubtedly pivotal piece of the draft puzzle. There's a wide range of speculation about where he will land. Maybe the Oakland Raiders, despite having Matt Flynn, still take Smith at No. 3 overall?

If not, the Philadelphia Eagles, Cleveland Browns, Buffalo Bills and even the New York Jets could be in play for Smith — or Florida State's EJ Manuel or Syracuse's Ryan Nassib at a lower cost on the draft board.

As for Smith, let Trent Dilfer weigh in. The former Super Bowl champ runs the Elite 11 passing camp, matching top college quarterbacks with hot-shot high school prospects. Of the six college quarterbacks who worked the camp last summer in Redondo Beach, Calif., Smith was the only one who arrived with full knowledge of the 89-page playbook Dilfer put together and sent to participants three weeks before camp opened.

"Geno showed up, and on Day 1, he could have taught it," Dilfer told USA TODAY Sports. "He didn't just know it, he owned it.

"The Pro Football Weekly report should be discarded," Dilfer added. "It's almost laughable, the stuff he put in there."

Since the report surfaced April 1, Smith has had so many credible voices eagerly refute the labels spewed out as knocks. That says something, too.

Smith has some believers. Soon, he will also have the opportunity to demonstrate whether he possesses the commitment and skill to hack it on the next level.

Jarrett Bell
Jarrett Bell is a NFL columnist for USA TODAY Sports. He's covered the National Football League since 1981. Previously, Bell covered the San Francisco 49ers for the Marin Independent Journal and the Dallas Cowboys for the Dallas Cowboys Weekly. He has been a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Selection Committee since 1997 and has participated on an exclusive media panel that has helped select the Super Bowl MVP for the past 15 Super Bowls.