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Is there an anti-Nigerian bias in the NFL?[/size]

By Doug Farrar




Well, here's a weird one. Dan Pompei of the National Football Post recently wrote that Nebraska cornerback Prince Amukamara(notes) may have fallen in the draft for a reason beyond his measurables. It was very odd to see Amukamara, whom I had ranked as a top-10 prospect and the second-best cornerback in this class behind LSU's Patrick Peterson(notes), slip past teams like Dallas, Houston, Minnesota, Detroit and Washington — all teams which could certainly claim need at the position (and this is not in any way assuming or insinuating that any of those particular teams have a bias -- the quotes are from an anonymous source).

Pompei uses more traditional scouting red flags when he begins detailing why Amukamara may have fallen to 19th overall:


What was behind Amukamara's fall? In many draft rooms, the scouts liked Amukamara more than the coaches. The DB coaches and defensive coordinators got together and decided they weren't as high on Amukamara as many of their scouting counterparts. The coaches pointed to Amukamara's short arms (30 1/2 inches, 71 ½ inch wingspan) and small hands (8 ½ inches).

And then, things got very interesting:


And there may have been more to the story. A lot of NFL people are skeptical about Nigerian players like Amukarma. "And it's not just white men," one executive said. "It's whites and blacks." It's still a subtle form of racism. The word on Nigerians: they are soft, not tough enough and too educated. It would be a pity if that's what cost Amukamara.

Indeed. The fact that Pompei is the one writing this makes me think that there's at least a little fire behind this smoke — Pompei is one of the better and more dialed-in football writers out there, he's not a rabble-rouser without there being a reason for it, and he doesn't have a large history of whiffing on the news he writes.

I had not been aware of such a bias in the NFL before, but if it's true, it's one of the single dumbest things I have ever heard, and officially trumps the recent redhead quarterback bias for sheer idiocy. For those wondering if Nigerian football prospects are "too soft," allow me to either introduce or re-introduce you to one Christian Okoye:



Six years, two Pro Bowls, one rushing title, and a lot of Advil for enemy defenders. Once you're done picking up your teeth from those YouTube hits, random NFL guy who apparently thinks that Nigerian people are "too soft," we'd like to introduce you to defensive end Adewale Ogunleye(notes) (nine years, 67 sacks, one Pro Bowl), fellow end Osi Umenyiora(notes) (eight years, 60 sacks, two Pro Bowls), and offensive tackle Jeff Otah(notes) (no Pro Bowls just yet, but one of the biggest and strongest young players in the game). And take some time to watch Amukamara tackle — "soft" isn't the word I'd use.

We're quite sure these fine gentlemen would enjoy hearing your opinions, random NFL guy, and won't mind taking the extra time out of their busy days to stuff you in the nearest garbage can. Receiver Devin Aromashodu(notes) and defensive end Victor Adeyanju(notes) may also wish to discuss that particular point of view. We can only hope this story isn't true — that perhaps somebody was pulling a fast one on Pompei — but given some of the evaluation standards I've heard before, it wouldn't surprise me.

Now, Prince Amukamara has one more motivation to make it big in the NFL: to prove that alleged bias wrong -- all over again.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/Is-there-an-anti-Nigerian-bias-in-the-NFL-?urn=nfl-wp1750

Its a pity. Amercans like to pigeon hole people. It use to be blacks are not intelligent enough to be Quarterbacks.

I was thinking the same thing, But I think its a commercial issue not his ability, sport = money and they need to make sure each part of the world is represented to create a successful GLOBAL franchise.  For example most indians watch cricket so the americans created a reality show in india where they plucked 3 really guys from the blue and turned them into baseball players.  This will draw in millions of indians who want to watch their own people play in the baseball league.  so maybe they thought, we have enough africans we need some chinese guys lol!   




So while fans get emotional the owners focus on pay-per-view figures, merchandise and the global brand of the franchise.

Hmmm . . . interesting.

I doubt the existence of this bias. There have been numerous successful Nigerian NFL players - though I readily admit I don't know how many were skipped over in the draft. If there's one thing we know, its that NFL teams do not opt out on good players for reasons other than their physical ability - if there's a question about their character, the teams usually take the plunge and hope it works out - this is shown time after time when good but troubled players keep on getting signed by new teams.

Winning is the most important thing in the NFL, not that the player wins Mr congeniality.

bECAUSE his hands are small and his wingspan is less than average, alot of teams bypassed him.

He can ball. No doubt about that. However, there is certain measurables in the NFL that every player must meet.

we shall see in 5 years.

He will still make about $30 MILLION U.S.D.

MandingoII:

bECAUSE his hands are small and his wingspan is less than average, alot of teams bypassed him.

He can ball. No doubt about that. However, there is certain measurables in the NFL that every player must meet.

we shall see in 5 years.

He will still make about $30 MILLION U.S.D.

Yeah there are plenty of NFL successes that weren't drafted. I hope he gets a shot to prove himself.