football
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George Taliaferro, First Black Man Drafted by the NFL, Dies at 91
Trailblazer and trendsetter George Taliaferro, the first African-American player to be drafted by the NFL, died Monday. He was 91 years old. According to Bleacher Report: Taliaferro was drafted by the Chicago Bears in 1949, though he never played for the team as a week earlier he had signed with the Los Angeles Dons of…
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I Believe the Question of the Blackest Name Ever Has Been Settled by Lil'Jordan Maleak Humphrey
Before we get going here, I’d like to be very, very clear: I’m in no way clowning Lil’Jordan Humphrey by calling his name (his first name) the Blackest Name Ever. In fact, I find this to be a compliment and culturally significant. We’ll get back to that. So who is Lil’Jordan Humphrey? He is currently…
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The NFL Is Being Guided by an Immoral Compass
In 1958, Martin Luther King Jr. famously said, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” Some 60 years later, the NFL has shown that the moral compass guiding it is bending on an arc toward a potential unjust blackballing of Colin Kaepernick and Eric Reid for protesting against systemic…
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Now That I’ve Gotten My DNA Results, I Don’t Know Who to Root for in the World Cup, but Cameroon Makes the Best Jollof Rice
2017 and 2018 have been years of exploration and discovery for me so far. I’ve taken time to examine a lot about my identity as a black biracial dude and started to look into family dynamics and how they relate to that identity politic. To up that ante, I’ve also begun digging into my ancestry…
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Bullied Ex-NFL Lineman Arrested After Posting Disturbing Instagram Story; Causes High School to Shut Down: Report
Former Dolphins offensive lineman Jonathan Martin, who had been bullied by now former teammate Richie Incognito, was arrested Friday after authorities say he posted a disturbing Instagram story that included showing a shotgun, shotgun shells and the names of former teammates and his former high school. ABC reports that on Thursday, Martin posted the images…
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A Prayer of Congregation for Those of Us Who’ve Made It to the Super Bowl Without Watching the NFL All Season
If you know like I know, bow your heads. Dear 8-pound, 6-ounce, newborn baby Jesus, don’t even know a word yet, just a little infant, so cuddly but still omnipotent, I come to you with a prayer of silent struggle. For it is only by your grace that I and many like myself have managed…
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New Orleans Saints Season Ticket Holder Sues Team Because of Anthem Kneeling, Then Drowns in Tub of Salty White Tears
A man named “Lee Dragna” filed a lawsuit against the New Orleans Saints in which he claimed that the protests during the national anthem upset him and his family so much that he was unable to enjoy the games. I am not completely convinced that this lawsuit is a real thing—or even that “Lee Dragna”…
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Forget About Colin Kaepernick; I Think I’m Done With the NFL Just Because I Don’t Want to Watch Someone Die
In eighth grade, I was a starting wideout and cornerback for my middle school football team, the St. Bartholomew Bruins. Our team that year went undefeated and won the Pittsburgh Diocese, and our only close game that season came during the championship, which we won on a last-second touchdown caught by yours truly—a catch that…
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Tony Romo Tried to Roast Deion Sanders, Deion Clapped Back
Former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo learned the hard way this weekend that it’s never a good idea to talk smack about someone as quick and as harsh with his comebacks as Deion Sanders. While calling the Chiefs-Cowboys game for CBS on Sunday, Romo commented that Chiefs cornerback Marcus Peters is not a good tackler—and…
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‘I Can’t Be Racist Because My Best Friend Is Black and Lives in the Condo I Own’ Is the Whitest Thing I’ve Ever Heard This Week
As a professional observer, curator, interpreter, documentarian and even occasional appreciator of blatant and reckless acts of shameless whiteness, I’ve seen and read about enough types of aggressively white behavior now to last five lifetimes. Particularly in regard to racism (anti-blackness, specifically). I’m like an old and fat NBA point guard who’s able to stay…