Race, Quarterbacks, and the Media

Abstract

Talk show host Rush Limbaugh made headlines in 2003 when he appeared on a cable sports program and claimed the media were biased in favor of African American quarterbacks. Using a sample made up of the seven African American starting quarterbacks in the National Football League matched with seven White quarterbacks with comparable statistics, this study considers whether newspaper coverage was slanted by race. The data, including more than 10,000 articles published during the 2002 football season, show minor and inconsistent differences in coverage between African American and White quarterbacks and offer no support to Limbaugh's position. Despite themedia's apparent lack of bias in this situation, response to Limbaugh's comments in the media avoided the larger issue of race and instead focused on the playing ability of African American quarterbacks.