Warren Moon wasn’t selected in the 1978 NFL draft and had to spend six years dominating the Canadian Football League before any NFL team would give him a chance to be the Hall of Fame quarterback he eventually became. It’s hard to view the NFL’s snubbing of Moon in the 70s and 80s as anything other than racism.
But while the NFL has made some progress on that front, Moon doesn’t think that progress has been sufficient: Moon told USA Today that he believes black quarterbacks are still held back by evaluators who view them unfairly.
Specifically, Moon noted that West Virginia quarterback Geno Smith was the subject of a scathing assessment that in Moon’s opinion crossed the line
“It sounds the same as two years ago,” Moon said. “It just shows that there are a lot of people in society who have the biases and stereotypes. And most of it is about your integrity or leadership or work ethic — all of these intangible things.”
Even 35 years after he was passed over in the draft, Moon still thinks the NFL has a long way to go.