Column: The real reason Luke Kuechly gets so overrated that nobody can admit
By Reid Foster
May 28, 2014 11:03 am EDT
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Pro Football Focus caused quite a stir earlier this week when they ranked Carolina Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly just the 80th best player in the NFL. Writer Steve Palazzolo did a nice job defending his website’s placement of the 2013 NFL Defensive Player of the Year, citing Kuechly’s average coverage skills as a key reason for him being rated lower than anticipated. He talks about the Panthers’ overall defensive success as a factor for the Boston College product receiving so many accolades. That’s definitely a big factor, but Palazzolo didn’t have the guts to reveal the real reason why Kuechly is so overrated. That’s okay because I do.
Luke Kuechly gets overrated because he is white.
Even though the NFL is two-thirds African-American, the majority of the fans that watch it and the majority of the media that cover it are white. People are naturally going to be more drawn to athletes, musicians, etc. that are the same race as them. Muhammad Ali was more popular amongst black people. Larry Bird was more popular amongst white people. Ichiro Suzuki was more popular amongst Asians. That doesn’t necessarily mean everybody is inherently racist, but that’s how it is.
If white players aren’t more popular, then why was Brian Urlacher so much more beloved than his teammate and fellow All-Pro linebacker on the Chicago Bears, Lance Briggs? Clay Matthews wouldn’t have half the endorsement deals he has right now if he were black. If that weren’t the case, then why don’t I ever see DeMarcus Ware and Terrell Suggs, who are both better by the way, on television? And it’s not a coincidence that the biggest stars in the NFL are quarterbacks, who are typically white.
These white quarterbacks are marketed with such voracity that it makes the league seem much whiter than it actually is. The NBA only has about 10% more black players than the NFL (percentage-wise, not total) and yet, it feels like it has 10 times as many. That’s a big reason why so many more people watch football, even though basketball is a sport that’s easier to pick up and a sport that many more Americans have played in their lifetime.
I’m not accusing the media of letting Luke Kuechly’s race interfere with their perception of him as much as I’m accusing them of allowing his popularity to do so. Media members, like everybody, have a tendency to be lazy and football is more difficult than any other sport to know how individual players are doing without looking more in-depth. This is because it’s the only sport that doesn’t always show all of the action going on the field on the television screen.
Kuechly, because he’s white, was the most well-known and popular player on the league’s second best defense. Combine that with the fact that he ranked high on an easy stat to look up (tackles) and it’s easy to understand why so many media members voted for him for defensive player of the year. In a parallel to Briggs and Urlacher, linebacker Thomas Davis was actually better than his fairer skinned teammate Kuechly this season but received less than a tenth of the publicity. You could say the same thing about defensive end Greg Hardy as well.
I’m not writing this piece to slander Kuechly. I was born and raised most of my childhood in the Carolinas and as such, grew up a Panthers fan. I do my best to not let that bias permeate my opinions but that doesn’t mean I don’t have a soft spot for guys like Cam Newton, the recently cut Steve Smith, and Kuechly. I’ve watched every game of his career and Pro Football Focus’ player rankings just confirmed what I already knew: Luke Kuechly wasn’t the best defensive player on the Panthers in 2013, let alone the entire league.