The story of the evolution of the Black quarterback experience cannot be told without mentioning Michael Vick, but his trajectory in the position almost didn’t happen due to the stigma attached to the role.
Despite no longer being an active player in the league, Vick continues to eat, breathe and sleep football. His latest project, Prime Video’s Evolution of the Black Quarterback, speaks to his love for the game. The documentary is centered on his experiences, and it includes the personal accounts of others who paved the way for him as well as those currently forging their own paths.
“It meant a lot. It was real scary at first because I didn’t know if I would eventually be a quarterback,” Vick told Blavity’s Shadow and Act, reflecting on his journey to becoming one of the league’s most revered athletes of all time.
“Just growing up and hearing about the stereotypes and the stigmas and the stories of the guys who came before me, I was always skeptical and wanted to change my position because I didn’t believe that I could be drafted as a quarterback, just based on the history and what I’ve heard and what I was hearing at the time,” he continued. “But it was coaches along the way that pushed me. Coaches that made me believe, white and Black, that I can continue to dream of being a quarterback in the National Football League one day.”
For Vick, it was during the 1999 NFL Draft that he saw what the future of the game could look like. In a historic feat at the time and for the first time in NFL history, three Black quarterbacks, Donovan McNabb, Akili Smith and Daunte Culpepper, were were selected in the opening round for their respective teams.
He added, “I’d seen the future [with them], so when I was selected No. 1 in 2001, I didn’t understand really the history of it or the barrier that was broken. I just wanted to make Atlanta proud — but was certainly more aware of what took place as the years followed and people continued to talk about that draft.”
In the documentary, Vick mentioned seeing a lot of himself in the current quarterback for the Baltimore Ravens, Lamar Jackson, and how that served as a catalyst for him embarking on the journey of creating The Evolution of the Black Quarterback. The Virginia native shared that it took roughly three years to work alongside his wife, Kijafa Vick, an executive producer for the project, as well as with FredAnthony Smith with SMAC Productions, to bring the project to fruition.
“They asked me to be the talent and to do the interviews and interview all of these people because I was always the one talking about the ones that came before me,” he said. “And just wanting to pay homage to them and pay homage to the NFL for just giving us the opportunity. They always knew I looked at it as a celebration and a celebratory moment, so they just felt like it should be highlighted.”
“Some people didn’t believe in it because they didn’t think it was possible to do or we shouldn’t have done it or it was a little touchy. But I feel like, man, it’s a celebration, and we should celebrate our history in every single way.”
Throughout the film, Vick has conversations with active quarterbacks, including the Dallas Cowboys’ Dak Prescott, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Russell Wilson, and the Kansas City Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes, among many others, including San Francisco 49ers’ former quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
Not only did Vick get firsthand accounts of their experiences within the sport, but he also received his flowers, with many, if not all, of the current quarterbacks taking time to acknowledge the impact that he made on them; they said he helped them believe they could play the position and achieve their dreams.
“I learned that we all share similar stories,” the four-time Pro Bowler said. “We all had our fair share of hardships, moments where we felt like it might have been a detriment, or something wasn’t going to go as planned. You might’ve been told you’re too short or should go play receiver. We all had those moments from somebody or some individual, who I wouldn’t necessarily say was probably hating, but probably was trying to guide us in telling the truth of what they felt the beliefs and the stereotypes were and just trying to keep us out of harm’s way so we don’t get disappointed.”
Vick continued, “But times have changed so much, and now we all got equal opportunity to be the best quarterbacks that we can when we step on the field at any high school or major university or any NFL team if deemed by the right people in the administration. So I’m very appreciative of the opportunity. I’m pretty appreciative that those guys look at me as one of the staples and one of the guys who allowed them to dream. Now, we have a league that’s really in a good place, regardless of how you look when you step behind the center.”
In terms of his own legacy, Vick was the first quarterback to rush for 1,000 yards in a single season, achieving this during his final season with the Atlanta Falcons. He’s a four-time Pro Bowler, and in 2010, he earned the title of NFL Comeback Player of the Year after signing with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Before making it to the professional league, Vick led Virginia Tech University to the national championship game in 2000 and still holds the school’s records for highest yards-per-completion average for a season and yards-per-attempt average for a season. When he retired from the NFL in 2017, he held the title of the NFL’s all-time leading rushing quarterback, retiring with the most career rushing yards by a quarterback, with a total of 6,109 rushes.
“I didn’t expect to have the success that I had in the NFL,” Vick said. “I knew it was going to be tough to be successful in the NFL. You had to work really hard. I didn’t think I would make four Pro Bowls, it should have been five. You know, NFC Championship game that I played in — I didn’t know that that would happen.”
“And then I also feel like it was more that I could have done along the way,” he said. “My goal is when I talk to the younger quarterbacks, the CJ Strouds, the Lamar Jacksons, the Jalen Hurts, I’m always pushing them to do more and to try to supersede the ones that came before them and supersede the years that have passed. If they had their best year was in 2023, then try to make 2024 even better. Always keep your best foot forward. Always keep believing, stay positive and believe in yourself. I think that’s most important.”
Evolution of the Black Quarterback is now streaming on Prime Video.
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