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Shutdown Corner - NFL

Shutdown Corner

Fri Aug 26 11:38am EDT

Madden ’12 assigns skin colors to positions

By Maggie Hendricks

EA Sports' latest offering of Madden 2012 comes out on Aug. 30, and it has a dizzying array of new features. One of the most interesting features is the superstar mode, where a gamer can create a player from scratch. This player can then be drafted or join a team as an undrafted free agent, and as he practices and plays in games, his experience helps him improve. Sounds fun, right?

But there is a headscratcher. As you create your superstar and choose his position, he curiously changes colors. For example:

Madden ’12 assigns skin colors to positions

If you choose to make your superstar a quarterback, he is white. But if you switch to a halfback:

Madden ’12 assigns skin colors to positions

Hey! He automatically changes to a black player. An offensive lineman?

Madden ’12 assigns skin colors to positions

White! And it happens on defense, too. A middle linebacker is white:

Madden ’12 assigns skin colors to positions

But a cornerback magically becomes black.

Madden ’12 assigns skin colors to positions

You can leave the superstar as is and let him play, or personalize him further. In about the fifth page of personalization, a gamer can choose the skin color, which might be the place where ESPN got the idea for a white Michael Vick(notes). But why would EA bury this choice so far in the game? More importantly, really, EA? It's 2011. There's no reason to hold on to old ideas about certain races playing certain positions.

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