With the 40th pick in the NFL Draft, Philadelphia selected an elephant in the room | Whitley
“White Men Can’t Jump” was a big hit 32 years ago. Is the world ready for the sequel, “White Men Can’t Cover”?
Based on last week’s NFL Draft, it seems not.
Philadelphia took Iowa cornerback Cooper DeJean in the second round. He looks like a young, beefed-up Woody Harrelson. He plays a position dominated by guys who are more akin to Wesley Snipes.
More precisely, the NFL has one full-time white cornerback this century. That was 20 years ago with Jason Sehorn of the New York Giants.
Despite that, the topic was an elephant in the NFL Draft room for months. Merely bringing it up made people squirm.
When a reporter asked DeJean about it at his introductory press conference, online observers railed that it was “Bush League,” “Outrageous” and, of course, “Racist.”
I’m not saying DeJean is some sort of latter-day Jackie Robinson. But even in our hypersensitive age, the reaction seems a bit overwrought and incurious.
Galileo would observe that whites make up 60% of the U.S. population, but approximately 0.73% of NFL cornerback rooms. From a sheer academic standpoint, isn’t that at least slightly interesting?
Is the explanation biology? Bias? Both?
“They don’t even let white guys try to play cornerback anymore,” Jason Kelce said on his podcast a couple of years ago. “Like they just said, ‘You’re done.’”
I believe NFL coaches would start a two-headed Mongolian at cornerback if he could cover Tyreke Hill. I also believe a few coaches at least subconsciously look at white cornerbacks the way Sidney Deane initially looked at Billy Hoyle in “White Men Can’t Jump.”
We used to make comedies about that dynamic. Now it’s almost taboo to even bring such things up.
Forget the NFL. If you’re curious about the world in general, that’s no way to solve its mysteries. …
Stud of the Week: The NFL, for drawing 775,000 fans in Detroit to watch Roger Goodell announce the names of college players who’d just been drafted.
Stud II: The SEC for having 59 players drafted, 16 more than the late, great Pac 12. As a public service, we won’t mention how many players Florida contributed to the total.
Stud II: Nelly Korda. After winning five straight LPGA tournaments, she was kind enough to take the week off and let somebody else win.
Dud of the Week: Georgia’s baseball team, for letting Texas A&M score 19 straight runs and having the game end on the 10-run rule. It might be the first time a team has been run-ruled after leading 9-0 in the first inning.
Answer of the Week: Twins infielder Kyle Farmer on how he’s tried to break out pf a hitting slump: “I’ve showered in my uniform. I’ve worn my sliders inside-out. I’ve changed my socks every day. I’ve prayed to Jesus, prayed to the baseball gods, and they still haven’t answered me.
“If you tell me to wear my jockstrap upside-down on my nose, I might do it.” …
Taboo II – The Kentucky Derby is Saturday. According to USRacing.com, brown or brownish (Chestnut, Bay) horses have won 136 times, grey horses have won eight times and “The last black to win the Kentucky Derby – Flying Ebony 1925.”
If you think that’s odd, no whites have won the Derby. Coming soon to a theater near you — “White Horses Can’t Run.” …
Gender Pay Gap Update – Friday’s Kentucky Oaks, the female version of Derby, has a total purse of $1.5 million. The male-dominated Derby’s purse is $5 million.
“But we no longer require the fillies to make coffee before morning workouts,” a Churchill Downs spokesman said. …
In hopes of breaking out of my writing slump, I’m wearing a jockstrap upside-down on my nose while typing this column. …
Answer of the Week II: Goes to Sondra Thomas, mother of LSU receiver Brian Thomas. After her son was drafted in first round, ABC’s Laura Rutledge asked her, “How far this family come?”
“We came from Baton Rouge, Louisiana,” Sondra said. …
Overheard from Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie during the second round of the NFL Draft: “He’s a what?” …
Here’s hoping the ABC reporter asks the mother of the Kentucky Derby winner how far their family has come. …
Feel No Draft: Not to get specific, but Florida had as many players drafted as Holy Cross, Houston Christian, New Hampshire, Texas A&M Commerce, Yale and that other UF, the University of Findlay. …
Umpires made Cubs reliever Luke Little change gloves last week because the one he was wearing had an American flag patch they said was distracting to hitters.
In related news, Ivy League presidents made their teams remove American flag patches because they are Ivy League teams. …
Breaking News: Derby longshot Mugatu (50-1 odds) has identified as a filly and is now favored to win the Kentucky Oaks. …
That’s about all the space we have for this week’s Whitley’s Believe It or Not. Until next time, always bet on the brown horse.
David Whitley is The Gainesville Sun's sports columnist. Contact him at dwhitley@gannett.com. Follow him on X @DavidEWhitley
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Today’s topic: A white NFL cornerback? Please don’t be offended
