Noah Aniser
New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/23/sports/ncaafootball/noah-bodden-grambling-state.html?action=click&module=Features&pgtype=Homepage
A Quarterback With N.F.L. Potential Pledges to an H.B.C.U., Joining a Trend
The article is about Noah Bodden who is senior at Christ the King High school and one of the most promising quarterbacks in the United States. The author uses him to explain a trend that is currently changing college sports and their recruiting. More and more players like Bodden, who have N.F.L. potential and who are African American choose to play for H.B.C.U.s instead of playing for the best football universities in the country.
Noah Bodden decided to go to Grambling State University, which is a historically black college in rural Louisiana. They have a rich history in football but just not the means to compete with major football powerhouses like LSU.
“I want to be a trendsetter” said Bodden in an interview with the New York Times last month.
After talking about Bodden’s decision the author mentions all the advantages that H.B.C.U. colleges will receive from recruiting players like Bodden.
People might think that going to colleges like Grambling lowers the chance to get drafted but there are special committees sponsored by the N.F.L. that guarantee H.B.C.U. players to get a fair consideration in the annual draft.
Since the police shooting of Jacob Blake and the murder of George Floyd, professionals all over the world protested for equality. Bodden resisted to go to a predominantly white college because he wants to strengthen the black community. He didn’t fear to get treated poorly or different at these schools because he would be a star athlete. It’s more about how the schools treat black people that are not star quarterbacks.
The author says that all of the schools value the talent of the athlete but not their humanity.
By committing to Grambling State University, Bodden wants to force a change.
I think that the article is really interesting because the author uses an example of a popular athlete to talk about a serious issue. The article is well written, and the information is also structured really good. All the necessary information is at the top and if people want to know more about the topic, they can continue reading.
Overall, I think it’s a good article and more people should read it.