Sports Illustrated‘s Phil Taylor has drawn attention to football’s “new” discrimination: white skill-position players. As a former skill-position player with relatively light skin, I can attest to everything he brings up, and I completely agree with the notion of the white running back (or wide receiver, or cornerback) as the “new black quarterback.” Even into the 90s, many people in the game felt that black players wouldn’t be “smart enough” to be a passing quarterback, with black quarterbacks typically only used by running offenses in the college game. Thankfully, Doug Williams (and then Charlie Ward) shattered that glass ceiling, though the stereotype has unfortunately not yet been fully shed—note that “mobile quarterback” and “dual threat quarterback” are still code-words meaning “black quarterback,” while “pro-style” tends to mean “white guy who is a statue in the pocket but can read defenses.”

Florida State’s Christian Ponder, who rushed for over 1,000 yards his senior year of high school while being relatively raw as a passer, is a good example of the continuation of this stereotype—Ponder was classified as a “pro-style” quarterback in all the recruiting databases. How likely would that have been for a black quarterback who ran a 4.6 and rushed for over 1,000 yards? Not very.

Taylor points to several examples of white running backs who “haven’t been competing just against other players; they’ve also been battling the perception that they’re not cut out for the job.” Unfortunately, this is the norm far more than anyone wants to admit—the old stereotypes still persist, only now it’s that black athletes are inherently faster, more explosive, and (the old stereotype still persisting) not as cerebral. When a white athlete succeeds, listen to how the commentators talk about how “gritty,” “intelligent,” or “hard working” he is, how he “gets the most out of his talent” (UNC’s Tyler Hansborough led the way in such adjectives for basketball players the last four years). How often do these types of descriptions get thrown around for black players?

Another anecdote: Just a few weeks back I watched a very impressive (and explosive) punt return of about 40 yards by a white player (I really wish I remembered who it was—it was a major college game), only to hear the commentator say something to the effect of, “Great return—he gets it done by being crafty and smart, not by being fast, but he’s a great returner.” Had the guy been black, they’d have been raving about his speed, but his great vision and smart return sense would have been overlooked.

The injustice swings both ways. Some of the hardest working players I’ve ever been around were black: NOBODY outworked Anquan Boldin, Michael Boulware, Stanford Samuels, Todd Williams, and dozens of others I had the privilege of training with. But do/did they get the same kind of credit for their grit and determination as they would if they were white? Hardly. Likewise, I watched (and received) far too much on the other end. I’ll never forget a white wide receiver being taken out before a vertical route was called in a scrimmage at FSU, “because I want some speed in there for this.” The look of disgust on that receiver’s face (he ran a 21 second 200m and was significantly faster than the black receiver replacing him) is something that will stick with me forever. Was it conscious racism? No, but it reflects just how difficult it can be to overturn long-held stereotypes. These sorts of assumptions all too often become self-fulfilling prophecies, as kids from a young age are put in various positions and told what their limitations or advantages are. The white 9 year old is more likely to be a quarterback than a running back (and vice-versa), and often for no reason other than skin color. Unfortunately, this is one place sports serves as a reminder of our troubles, not as a diversion from them.