Hate mail, unofficial bans and Super Bowls: Long journey of the Black QB

The Guardian caught up with Jason Reid to chat about his new book, which tell the story of the men who laid the foundation for today’s Black superstar quarterbacks and how modern players, such as Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson, are navigating the unconscious bias and conscious racism that continue to permeate US society.

Fritz Pollard is a monumental figure in NFL history, as well as in your book. I know you spent time with grandson. Can you explain Pollard’s impact on the game?

Jason Reid: Pollard was the first African American superstar in the NFL. He was listed as a running back though he played quarterback – not quarterback in the sense that we know it with the formations we know. But he was a quarterback too and he was the first Black head coach. It’s monumental on many levels. With regards to the quarterback position, someone had to be the first. He was an All-Pro in the first year of the league. He was a star in the first year of the league. And in a league that wasn’t welcoming at that point to Black men, he was an absolute outlier.

There was a disturbing period of 12years (1934-1946), when no Black players were in the NFL. Do you believe the owners had a formal agreement?

More than likely, it was a gentleman’s agreement that we’re just not going to have Blacks anymore. You talk about some Indiana Jones type of stuff if someone could find and authenticate a document that said we’re not going to have Black players in the league. But it probably doesn’t exist. There probably wasn’t a need to put it on paper.

Has the NFL done enough to acknowledge this period?

A lot of people argue no. I remember thinking to myself that it’s clearly a delicate situation for the league. On the one hand, a 12-year ban on Black