October 03, 2006
The U.S. is not a perfect country. But I think it's useful to remember that we have made at least a little progress against injustice. Michael Wilbon writes a lovely column comparing the career of James Harris to those of Byron Leftwich and his two backups.
As the Jaguars' vice president in charge of player personnel, Harris made the call last year to draft Jones, a quarterback at Arkansas, as a wide receiver. Harris has no problem appreciating how far football life as evolved, to the point where three black quarterbacks, a converted white receiver and a black club executive can succeed in a small Southern town in the sport traditionally most resistant to cultural change.
Asked if he could have envisioned three black quarterbacks playing on one team when he entered the NFL, Harris said: "Absolutely not. I had a hard enough time seeing three black quarterbacks in the entire league back then. We've come a long way, haven't we? I have thought about what we have and said to myself, 'Looks like we have a little bit of role reversal going on down here.' "