Before the Rose Bowl, Michigan’s Sherrone Moore needed to qualify his undefined stance on race. From the offensive coordinator who took over for Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh during his suspension, a question about Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe, who revealed his former offensive coordinator attempted to discourage him from becoming a collegiate quarterback.
“Really, I don’t see color,” Moore said during a media day for their bowl game against Alabama. “My wife is Caucasian. My kids are mixed. I deal with Black, white. I’ve lived in Kansas where you can be in the house with the door open at 12, and in New Jersey where you have to be in the house by 6 o’clock. I’ve seen all cards of the spectrum.”
Thanks for the family breakdown and regional safety knowledge, but that doesn’t answer the question, Sherrone. It only opens the door to further inquiry, like, are you a believer in a post-racial America?
Milroe Keeps It Real
Ahead of the Rose Bowl, Milroe told the world that his path to becoming QB1 was far from a straight line, with nonbelievers even on his team.
“All my life, even when I was in college,” Milroe said of people discouraging him from playing the position. “Shoot, my own offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien told me I shouldn’t play quarterback.”
Milroe explained that O’Brien advised him that “there’s a bunch of positions” he could have switched to from quarterback, to Milroe’s dismay.
Milroe went even further after he was asked for a follow-up.
“How would you feel if I told you you suck?” Milroe continued. “OK, then. That’s exactly how I felt. Biggest thing for me, be true to myself and stay the same. Nothing changed about me. Only thing that changed was that I had opportunity, and I seized it. … But look where I am right now. Who gets the last laugh?”
Moore Questions Than Answers
A stigma hovers over the Black quarterbacks that they do not prepare or have the real time mental acuity as their white counterparts as gunslingers. Although Milroe didn’t specify, he alluded to an extreme disbelief by O’Brien in his ability. The same can be said for the coaching ranks on both the NFL and collegiate level.
That’s what makes Moore’s reaction to the questions raised by Milroe even more troubling because he is scrutinized as a coach in ways similar to Milroe’s as a quarterback.
