This is an update of a previous post.

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Brian Leonard
I was reading some draft related materials today and I came across this little tidbit from Pete Prisco of CBS. He writes in his column from the 15th of April, that an athlete by the name of Brian Leonard hopes to make the leap from the college ranks to the pro ranks as a running back.

This dream is shared by many who are entering this year's Draft but there is a problem with Leonard's dream: he's white.

He also may not be a running back. Most scouts have him rated as a top fullback but his idea of becoming a running back is shunned. He has good size, is strong, and is a powerful runner. He can also catch the ball out of the backfield. The scouts just aren't sure he has the explosivenss (and maybe skin tone) required to be a featured running back in the NFL.

A White Running Back?
The sighting of a white running back at an elite level is about as rare as that of a Snow Leopard. White running backs are rarer than Black Quarterbacks, especially in terms of starters; and very few are on rosters as backups. Not a single white guy started at running back for any team in the NFL last year.

It's something I've noticed before. There simply aren't any white running backs. Fullbacks yes, but not running backs. The idea of a white guy being a running back is ludicrous. The thought of a white guy breaking off a long run and taking it to the house is laughable. White people can't run. Plain and simple, white meat is not made for the "skill positions" of running back, cornerback, and wide reciever.

If you're on offense and you're white you can play Quarterback, Lineman, Tight End, or Fullback. On defense, Linebacker, Lineman, or Safety. Those are your options.

Really?
Is that really the truth? Are white people really not cut out to play the "skill positions?"

Wide receiver is much more diverse and that thinking with regards to wideouts is breaking down. Personally, I think Wes Welker and Brian Finneran are two of the most underrated players in the league. Both are white, both play wide reciever, and I think both are good.

I can't think of the last time I saw a white corner. But the idea of a white corner is not so outlandish as the thought of a white running back. I would actually believe it if somebody told me a team's number one CB was white.

But running back? White's don't belong as running backs. They just aren't cut out for it.

Running Back is Made For Blacks
A couple years back a white guy named Brock Forsey had a good game. Not that big of a deal, except that he's a white running back. While playing for the Bears he ran for 134 yards agains the Arizona Cardinals.

After the game he recalled being asked, "Is it surprising you came out and had a great game and you're white?" He didn't think they would be so direct but everybody was thinking it. Emmitt Smith called him Brian Piccolo, though Forsey clearly isn't that good since he's no longer in the league, but most were simply shocked that a white guy could be a running back.

"'They can't compete with us," says Eric Dickerson, the NFL's all-time single-season rushing leader, who dominated with the Los Angeles Rams during the 1980s. "The black athlete, especially at that position, is faster, more elusive. That's just a position made for agility.'" (Harris and Robinson)

Discrimination
There is a great deal of stereotyping going on here. Athletes and scouts, coaches and commentators just don't feel white people are capable of being the featured back.

According to Harris and Robinson's article, which was written in 2004, and from which much was taken for this blog, the best runner in highschool from central Florida was white. His name is Kevin Harris and he decided to go to Wake Forest because they were one of two schools to commit to making him a running back.

His dad, who was also his highschool coach, was told by one school's rep, "Coach, I could never bring back a white running back to my university. That's just the way it is. They just wouldn't accept it."

In his Freshman year at Wake Forest Kevin tied the school record for the most touchdowns by a red-shirt Freshman (6) and was 10th in the ACC.

I think the biggest issue is perception. I recall watching ESPN's coverage of the 60th anneversary of Jackie Robinson's breaking the color barrier in baseball. In one of their segments they interviewed the only two black players on a traditionally black school's baseball team. They said black kids just didn't think of baseball as a "black sport." I think the same holds true for the running back position.

White athletes have been taught that they can not be running backs. It's just not a "white position." Instead, they refine their skills to be linbackers or tight ends or fullbacks. But they don't even try to be tailbacks, running backs. They are taught that since they are white they will not succeed at that position.

White kids are told not to try to be tailbacks. They are told to bulk up and become fullbacks or seek some other position because a white running back simply isn't acceptable.

The first black coach to win a Superbowl, Tony Dungy, had this to say:

You've got guys in high school, white players, who are discouraged from being wide receivers, defensive backs or running backs -- I think we do have that. It's "this position is a white position or black position." I definitely believe they are channeled early on.

Conclusion
I believe the fact is, over the years, more black guys have been better at the running back position than white guys. For whatever reason they've just proven over the years to be better. White guys are not broadly disciminated against (hell, most quarterbacks are white, many tight ends are white, plenty of linemen are white, and some of the best linebackers are white). But there is something interesting going on at the running back position. In 20 years there really hasn't been a white guy good enough at that position? Really?

There is simply a bias against white running backs. It's not malicious prejudice like was experienced by minorities in the past, but there is no doubt it exists. When a white guy steps up to compete as a running back most people will see him as "more of a fullback." In this day and age it's simply unthinkable that a white guy would be averaging over a 100 yards a game, and maybe be the first in twenty-some years to crack a 1,000 yard season.

But stereotypes and biases are only strong until they're disproven. They are there to challenge people to rise above them and to smash them. They exist to give someone a goal to achieve, a record to set, and minds to change.

I don't know if Brian Leonard is the man to do that. I haven't seen him play and know little about him. If his heart is in it, a team could maybe take a chance on him. Pick him up and give him the ball. Maybe he'll be the first great white runner in years. Maybe he'll even end up leading a team to the Superbowl. Maybe.

But if not, hey, you could always just use him as a fullback.







Further Reading
Thanks to Chris Harry and Charles Robinson who wrote a nice piece about this in 2004.
Endagered Species: A racial dividing line exists at the running back position, and there doesn't seem to be a clear reason why.


Update!
Brian Leonard Drafted by St. Louis Rams
Well, seems like this question will be answered. If Brian Leonard is truly a good runningback then he couldn't have landed on a better team. The Rams love Steven Jackson and will look to Leonard to give him a breather. They also love to pass out of the backfield so Leonard's pass catching ability will be utilized. He certianly will never be the starter in St. Louis (barring a major injury to Jackson) but it's a start and a good one at that.

A New Hope (brought to you by the Darkside)
Demon found this video a of runningback named Sam McGuffie. He seems to have good skills. He appears fast, strong, and agile. Changes direction well and doesn't go down easily. If he keeps this up (watch the video, very good!) then he may well be the first white dude to rush for 1,000 yards in a season since the 80's.