01x01 - Episode 1

[bunniefuu]

[commentator 1]

Coast to coast and around the world.

It is Super Bowl LVII.

[commentator 2] The first time,

two African American quarterbacks

against each other in a Super Bowl.

[Vick] History.

Sometimes you don't realize you're

living through it as it's happening.

Other times, it's obvious.

Super Bowl LVII.

For the first time,

two Black quarterbacks faced off

on the biggest stage in sports.

That moment hit me personally.

Some might remember me most as

a quarterback who played in the NFL

who left it all on the field.

Others as a man who made mistakes,

who knows firsthand

that evolution can be hard.

Knowing the road was tough

for those who came before me.

As I watched that game,

I asked myself, how did we get here?

I knew I had to find out.

[reporter 1] The n*gro is proud of

the advancement his race is making.

[commentator 1] That colored boy

is sure getting under their skin.

[commentator 2] Kenny Washington's

getting the ball, fakes the pass.

-He's going to run with it.

-[commentator 3] That's still a long run!

[reporter 2] Government was

intended to be for the White man.

[Malcolm X]

We didn't land on Plymouth Rock.

The rock was landed on us.

[reporter 3] Coaches seem to believe

that Blacks are inferior thinkers.

[George Wallace] and segregation forever.

I am a revolutionary.

[commentator 4] Briscoe for the touchdown.

[Jimmy Snyder]

The Black is a better athlete

because he's been bred to be that way.

[reporter 4]

I hope Doug Williams puts to bed

about the Black athlete once and for all

in professional football.

[Al Campanis] How many quarterbacks

do you have that are Black?

They may not have the necessities

[commentator 5]

Falcons select Michael Vick.

[Obama] There is not

a Black America and a White America.

-There's the United States of America.

-[reporter 5] An unarmed African American

[reporter 6] There is an awakening

[reporter 7] The emergence of

the Black quarterback is not a myth.

[commentator 6] And Patrick Mahomes's

revolution continues.

[Vick] This story,

I've experienced it up close.

With the, uh, first selection,

the Atlanta Falcons select Michael Vick.

-[crowd cheers]

-[Tagliabue] Quarterback.

[Vick] But to really

understand where we came from,

I needed to take a journey

across America

across generations

to learn about the ones

who missed their chance.

The ones who kept pushing

and the ones who broke through.

Learning a little

about myself along the way.

Philadelphia is

the perfect place to start.

Home of the Eagles.

Home of so many great Black quarterbacks.

[Vick] Looking good.

Looking good as always.

Jalen, man, here in Philadelphia,

Black quarterbacks like Rodney Peete,

Randall Cunningham,

Donovan McNabb, myself,

you joined the ranks of some great ones.

What's the feeling of responsibility

you feel now continuing to move forward?

You don't understand the-the amount

of times where I could be working out

and I turn on a highlight video

of Randall, yourself, McNabb.

I never get too far ahead of myself,

just focus on getting better every day.

And I truly feel like if I if I continue

to just try to be the best that I can be,

it'll look great in the end.

Turn this up! Let's go!

[reporter 1] History at Super Bowl LVII.

For the first time ever,

two Black quarterbacks

will compete against each other.

I know I was that kid that

that turned on the TV

and I I saw the position

being played a certain way.

You turn that same

TV on now in a new time,

you got the game being

played a totally different way.

And that's a testament to yourself,

the guys that have come before you,

guys that have come before me

and obviously the guys

that are playing right now.

So being able to play in the Super Bowl,

it really just made history obviously

bigger than the game, but for the culture.

Right.

Yeah, that's cool. And it-it

really sets a new precedent

for-for what kids can

look forward to and can expect.

Jalen, when you hear names like

Doug Williams, Warren Moon, Shack Harris,

guys who paved the way,

what comes to mind?

They opened these doors for us to come

through and be able to do what we do.

Yeah. That's a huge legacy.

Those guys went through a lot.

I know you had an issue at the Combine.

[reporter 2] Jalen,

I know you're a career quarterback,

would you be willing to start your career

in a role similar to Taysom Hill?

They would ask if I was open to it.

And I respectfully said,

you know, "I'm a team-first guy.

I always have been and I always will be,

-but I'm a quarterback."

-Yeah. It'd be a mistake.

[Hurts] The-The stigmas that are placed

on us and that one may place on you

-and trying to put you in a box.

-Right.

I always worked to allow

my play to do the talking.

[crowd cheers]

-[commentator 1] Hurts

-[commentator 2] Going deep.

[commentator 1]

Touchdown! Hurts!

-He is in for the touchdown!

-[commentator 2 laughs]

You are part of this next generation,

carrying the torch.

What responsibilities do you feel like

you have for the next generation

who gonna be watching you

and idolizing you as time goes on?

[Hurts] I just want to give

the game everything it deserves.

For anyone that follows me, I just

want them to know that it's-it's not easy,

and it comes with a certain type

of discipline and determination

and ultimately a standard for yourself

and how you want to do it.

And that's all I strive for every day.

[Vick] What's good, baby?

-What's up, Vinny Curry?

-What's up, baby? What's going on?

-Hey, you! Bro, bro, and bro.

-[laughs]

-[Vick] What's up? How you doing?

-How's it going? How are you doing?

[Vick] I'm doing a story on

the evolution of the Black quarterback.

[Goodell] The Super Bowl last year.

Definitely a big moment in our history.

[Vick] Yeah. We go way back

and you stood on the table for me

when you didn't have to.

I thought you earned it.

You said, "I made a mistake."

You paid a heavy price for it.

And more importantly,

you went on another level and said,

"I'm gonna make sure others

don't make a similar mistake."

-What are you playing?

-Quarterback.

[Vick] Hey, Quarterback,

keep holding it down.

-[Goodell] Love you, man.

-Love you too.

[Vick] Philly will always

be a special place to me.

That's where I got a second

chance to show what I could do.

And that's really

the story of the Black quarterback.

Someone gets a chance

and that changes everything.

But to understand how we got here,

we have to take it back to the beginning.

[Dr. Todd Boyd] You know, 1920,

the time at which the NFL begins,

is a very different time

in American history.

We're only 60 years removed from sl*very.

That's not that much time.

Segregation is legal

and Black people are marginalized.

This was a long time ago,

very different than the way we live now.

And I think the Black quarterback

is part of that discussion

as we move forward historically and

come to understand how society functioned

and how a position on a football field

would contain so much symbolism

as it connected with issues of race

in our society.

[Wyche] In 1920,

it was all about college football.

It was the Ivy League schools.

It was the military academies.

Notre Dame.

Getting the college football stars

into the NFL, it was hugely important.

Fritz Pollard was an

all-star college football player.

Went to Brown University

at a time when African Americans

didn't go to college as much.

And as the league

was trying to be taken seriously,

they needed players who fans knew

and who could help raise the profile

and the legitimacy of the league.

And Fritz Pollard was

a player who certainly did that.

[Menefee] Fritz Pollard

played quarterback,

tailback in the Wing-T offense.

He was the guy that

the ball was always in his hands,

always made decisions.

The challenges for Fritz Pollard,

as it was for the few Black players that

were in the National Football League,

heard the racial slurs

whenever he would come into stadiums.

He had to have separate places

that he dressed

because he couldn't dress

in the same locker room.

Black people simply weren't seen as equal.

And so it was more than just fighting

for his rights as a football player,

as an athlete.

He was fighting for his rights as a man.

[Jarrett Bell] Fritz Pollard

and the Black players in the '20s

helped lay the foundation because

they helped to establish the sport.

And now we look at the NFL as

the most popular sport in the land.

Well, back then, the NFL was still

trying to prove itself as a viable entity

that went beyond college football,

that could attract people

on a regular basis.

You're broken down and tired ♪

Of living life on a merry-go-round ♪

[Vick] We're here in Washington DC,

spending some time with Coach Dungy,

who was a quarterback himself,

played at the University of Minnesota.

Had some success but didn't

get drafted as a quarterback.

I kinda wanna talk about his journey,

ask him about some of

his favorites growing up.

Talking about those who came

before him and those who came after.

We will rise up

And we'll do it a thousand times again ♪

-Coach! Been a long time.

-Michael Vick. What do you say, my man?

-How are you?

-So good to see you.

-Great, Coach. How about yourself?

-I'm doing well.

-You look amazing.

-Well, thank you. You do too.

Thank you. I'm glad that we, uh we got

the opportunity to spend some time today

-and go through some history.

-Yeah, this is going to be unbelievable.

For you ♪

Ah ♪

[music ends]

Coach, I wanted to come here

and explore this museum with you,

but at the same time,

dive into your journey

and, uh, also the history of

the quarterback position,

the Black quarterback,

and how far we've come to date.

And you being a former quarterback.

-It makes sense to want to

-[Dungy] Did you know that, or did you

-No, I didn't know that.

-[laughs]

I did not know that, Coach.

-And I felt so bad, so

-[sighs]

[Dungy] My kids see

my old college film now

-and they're like, "Damn, we didn't know."

-[Vick] Yeah.

I know when you talking about sports,

racial prejudice played a part.

I would like to know from you

how you guys persevered.

We had some guys

that paved the way for us.

Guys who had to fight

through some barriers and, uh

Who was some of those guys, Coach?

I tell you, I When I grew up,

my dad was going

to school at Michigan State

and Jimmy Raye was the quarterback.

[commentator] The Spartan offense is

marshaled by junior quarterback, Jim Raye.

[Dungy] They won

a national championship, 1966.

[Vick] Okay.

[Dungy] He was a leader

and that's who I emulated.

Eldridge Dickey might have been one of

the best athletes to ever play football,

-played at Tennessee State.

-Wow.

[Dungy] The Oakland Raiders

draft him in the first round.

[Vick] Okay.

In the second round,

they draft another quarterback,

-Ken Stabler

-S-Stabler?

who ends up going on to the Hall of Fame.

But they drafted Eldridge Dickey first.

-So that tells you about that ability.

-Okay.

[Dungy] Stabler goes on

to the Hall of Fame.

Eldridge Dickey never gets a chance

-to play quarterback in the NFL.

-[Vick] Right.

This museum, Mike, has a-a special place

in my heart because my dad came here

-and taught school, uh

-Here?

-[Dungy] Here in the DC area.

-Okay.

[Dungy] Not too many miles from

right where we're standing.

My dad had fought in World w*r II

as a Tuskegee airman

and came here to DC

to teach his first teaching job

[Vick] Wow.

[Dungy] and he couldn't teach

in an integrated school.

-[Vick] Wow.

-He had to teach in an all-Black school.

And he said the first time

he went to school,

-he went to get on the bus

-Mm-hmm.

and they said, "No,

you can't sit in this section of the bus."

And so he said, "Well, if I can't sit

anywhere I want to, I'll walk."

He said he walked to school every day to

make sure his kids in the all-Black school

knew as much science as

-the kids in the all-White school.

-Yeah. [chuckles]

And I said, "Dad,

didn't that make you upset?

You fought for the country

and you can't even teach."

-Right.

-And he said,

"I could be upset,

but that wasn't gonna help things.

I had to figure out

a way to make things better."

-Wow.

-"So the way I could make it better

was make sure I was

the best teacher I could be."

-[Vick] Yeah.

-And that always stuck with me.

I think what it put in me is

"Don't let anything stop you."

And you know,

50 years later, we come back,

-we win the Super Bowl

-Mm-hmm.

[Dungy] and President Bush

invites us to the White House.

-Okay.

-I landed at this airport

and I'm on the bus going

to the White House,

where my dad couldn't ride the bus.

I'm in the first seat in the first bus

going to meet the president.

-And

-50 years later.

-Yeah, but it falls back on those guys

-Change.

-[Dungy] who changed things for us.

-Oh, man.

-Okay.

I'm quarterbacking

the University of Minnesota

-Mm-hmm.

-playing the University of Washington.

Warren Moon's quarterbacking them.

[Vick] Okay.

[Dungy] I'm leading

the Big Ten in passing.

Warren's leading the Pac-10 in passing.

[commentator 1] Moon goes deep.

There's Gaines. Got it! Touchdown!

Come draft time,

neither one of us gets drafted.

They say, "Hey, you gotta change positions

-or go to Canada."

-Right.

[Dungy] So I wanted to play in the NFL,

I changed positions

and became a defensive back.

Warren said, "I'm not changing positions.

-I'm a quarterback."

-Yeah. Yeah.

[Dungy] He goes to Canada,

comes back and goes to

the Hall of Fame as a quarterback.

That's how it was back then.

-Yeah, you had to choose your fate.

-It wasn't the same.

A couple of years before me,

there was a guy named Chuck Ealey.

[commentator 2] Twenty-two-year-old

Chuck Ealey is a cool, young man

-on the field under any kind of pressure.

-[Vick] Okay.

[Dungy] Chuck Ealey was a

quarterback at University of Toledo.

-[Vick] Right.

-He was one of my heroes.

-Never lost a game in high school.

-Yeah.

[Dungy] Never lost a game in college

-in the University of Toledo.

-Okay.

[Dungy] Didn't get drafted

because didn't fit the mold.

But Chuck Ealey, he had to go to Canada.

Won the Grey Cup as a rookie.

But you'd think

quarterback isn't about winning,

and this man was undefeated

in seven years and didn't get drafted?

That's how we had to battle.

And it wasn't the-the type of thing

where people said,

"We don't want Black quarterbacks,"

but it was always,

"If your arm was a little stronger."

"If you stayed in

the pocket a little more."

"You don't fit our-our style."

[Vick] Coach, and there you go.

One of the greatest moments

in sports history.

[commentator 3]

The Colts are world champions!

World champions for the first time!

[Dungy] Proud moment for me, Michael,

because when I got my

first head coaching job in Tampa,

one of my real goals, I said,

"I've got to give

some more guys opportunities."

[Vick] Okay.

[Dungy] My first staff

was Lovie Smith and Herm Edwards

and then Herm got the job

in New York and I hired Mike Tomlin.

And those guys took it

-and they showed what they could do.

-Yes, they did.

[Dungy] And so to-to be able to play in

a Super Bowl against Lovie,

that was an unbelievable thrill.

Coach, I-I will say this,

I love Lovie but I was rooting for you.

[Dungy laughs] It's so hard to believe.

I remember that Super Bowl game

and-and the clock was running down.

There's like a minute left

and I know we're gonna win.

And I was on the sideline thinking,

"How in the world did I get here?

How did this happen?"

I thought about my dad.

I thought about Fritz Pollard.

I thought about guys who sacrificed

and just kept fighting

to give us an opportunity.

And it was one of those great

feelings like, "Man, we did it."

Thank you so much

for taking me on this tour

and enlightening me on so many things

that I didn't know about.

And I wanna take the time to thank you

for being such an inspiration in my life

and always holding me accountable.

So there's a lot of people

that I try to make proud.

Parents, my wife, yourself, Andy.

And thanks for always

holding me to a higher standard.

Thank you so much.

It's been awesome to go through

the museum with you, Mike.

[Vick] It's great to celebrate history,

but it's not just about the triumphs.

There's a story in the pain too.

[reporter] The great big spree,

the Jazz Age is over.

All over.

In the 1920s,

the great American word was prosperity.

Now the '30s have begun

and there is a new word.

Depression.

During the Great Depression,

fans didn't want to see,

or at least owners didn't believe that

fans wanted to see Black men working

and getting paid while

White men were out of a job.

[Wyche] You have George Preston Marshall

and other owners collude to say,

"Black players, uh-uh, we're not

having them, we're not paying them."

So for roughly 12 years,

there were no Black players in the NFL.

The NFL reintegrated in 1946

when Cleveland moved to Los Angeles.

And they wanted to play in the Coliseum.

But the Coliseum forbade them

from practicing segregation,

so they had to have

African American players.

And so they turned to a star player,

Kenny Washington,

who had been a-an All-American at UCLA.

[commentator] Kenny Washington

steps back to pass,

throws a looper to Jackie Robinson

and it's complete for a first down.

[Bell] And then they signed

his former UCLA teammate Woody Strode

a few weeks later and there you had

the integration of the NFL.

Even as football integrated,

and it's a major moment of progress,

we also still have this

racial hierarchy in place.

Blacks were not allowed

to play quarterback,

center, middle linebacker, safety.

The positions down the middle of the field

that were deemed by football people

as the thinking positions.

1953, Willie Thrower,

the first Black quarterback that played

in the NFL, it lasted one game.

Choo Choo Brackins

played for the Green Bay Packers.

He got into a game, he threw two passes,

two incompletions,

and the next week he was cut.

[Bell] It wasn't until 1968,

when Marlin Briscoe got the opportunity

to start multiple games as

a rookie for the Broncos.

[teammate] Let's go, Marlin!

Marlin Briscoe is

a significant figure in NFL history

because he's officially the first Black

starting quarterback of the modern era.

And he was able to do it in 1968

with all the turmoil that was

going on around the country.

And I think a lot of people

kind of looked at him

and thought he was going to open the door

and provide an avenue for

a lot of guys who'd come up

through the college ranks at HBCUs

or at, you know, other major universities

to try and get an opportunity

to play quarterback in

the National Football League.

And that didn't really happen.

Rodney Peete!

My brother. How are you, man?

Where we at, Rodney?

We are at Illusion Magic.

-You know why?

-[Vick] Why?

[Peete] We're gonna talk

a little Marlin Briscoe, right?

-What's his nickname?

-The Magician.

Plus, I got a little

something special for you in there, man.

-I love surprises, baby.

-Yeah.

[both] Let's do it.

-Hey. What's going on, Rod?

-What's up, Larry?

-What's going on?

-Good to see you.

-Mike Vick.

-How you doing?

-Good to see you.

-What's going on?

-Good to have you fellas here.

-Yeah, got my-my buddy with me.

Came here to talk about Marlin Briscoe.

Before we talk about him,

I thought I would do a trick in honor

of him since he was called The Magician.

This is an ordinary deck of cards.

Michael, just pull any card out.

Any card that you want.

Make sure that's the one you want.

-That's fair. Right?

-That's fair.

Show it to the camera.

Place it right there.

-[Vick] All right.

-[Wilmore] Don't forget it.

We're gonna leave it right where it is.

Do you know why Marlin Briscoe

was called The Magician?

-He was an escape artist.

-No way.

He could escape from any situation.

So what we're gonna do

is rather than find your card,

your card is gonna

escape from the deck, right?

I'm just gonna tie the deck up to my hand.

That way I can't manipulate it in any way.

And on the count of three, when we say

I'm gonna say, "One, two, three,"

we'll say, "Marlin Briscoe,"

the card is gonna escape from the deck in

the amount of time it takes to say that.

-Ready? One, two, three.

-[Vick, Peete] Marlin Briscoe.

-[Wilmore] Is that your card?

-[laughs]

-[Vick] That was.

-[Wilmore] Ace of hearts?

-That was the card.

-That was the card, everybody!

-[Vick] That was the card. That was good.

-Marlin Briscoe, the Magician. Come on.

Oh, man. That was big time right there.

-We did it.

-I-I was watching close.

-You got me with that one.

-[Wilmore] I got you, right?

-I got you.

-[Peete] You got me too.

Marlin was like that, man.

He could get out of situations.

-We owe so much to him.

-Yeah.

[Peete] He was the first Black

quarterback to start a game in the NFL.

[reporter] Marlin Briscoe, number 15,

was introduced into the quarterback slot.

[Peete] Of that era,

people would've probably said,

"Oh, he's Michael Vick."

-Because he could move around

-[laughs] That says a lot.

he could escape,

he can get out of trouble.

[Wilmore]

Quarterbacks then were pocket passers,

but he was unpredictable for his time.

People didn't know what he was gonna do.

They haven't seen this kind of

excitement with a quarterback.

He really started a whole new thing,

but then it just stopped after that season

when he didn't get

a chance to quarterback.

[crowd cheering]

Let's just stop right there.

You said it stopped?

Times were just different, you know.

In 1968, Dr. King

was assassinated early in the year.

There were riots.

There was so much unrest.

So for a Black man to lead

a group of White men in 1968,

that was not an easy proposition.

[crowd cheering]

[Wilmore] The racial

dynamic was the biggest thing.

The way people judged Black quarterbacks.

They didn't think they were as

smart as the White quarterbacks.

A lot of quarterbacks called

their own plays back in those days.

You know, can he be a real play caller?

[Vick] Okay,

so it was just one year for-for Marlin.

One year and done and then he

was on to playing wide receiver.

They didn't wanna make him

quarterback again for the second season.

So he said, "Fine,

I'll go somewhere else."

Didn't get a chance to do it again, but he

reinvented himself as a wide receiver.

He wasn't just a wide receiver,

he was a Pro Bowler.

He won two rings for the Dolphins.

He was on that undefeated team.

Certain people would say, "See, we always

knew you were a wide receiver." [laughs]

Yes, exactly! Right. [groans]

So Marlin Briscoe in 2023 is a

full-fledged starter

-in the National Football League.

-Exactly.

-Thousand percent.

-Without question.

He's on the cover of Madden. Easy.

Marlin Briscoe just recently passed away.

Never really got his just due.

That's why it's important for us.

We gotta keep it going, that legacy going

-Yeah.

-because he paved the way

for so many of us.

Watching guys like me

and Randall and Warren.

-But knowing that he started in the NFL

-Yeah.

[Peete] you know,

he was the first one to do it.

Rodney, I wanna take a moment

to just reflect on your career at USC.

And that was a delicate time

for Black quarterbacks.

Did you have to

deal with any-any stereotypes

-Oh, yeah.

-as you played the position?

[Peete] When I was getting recruited,

half the schools that recruited me

wanted me to play wide receiver.

USC said I could play quarterback.

Plus, they had

Black quarterbacks there before.

You know, they had Jimmy Jones,

Vince Evans.

When you see somebody

in your position that's doing it,

then it gives you a feeling like,

"I can do it too."

[crowd cheering]

[commentator 1]

Rodney Peete turns it inside. Touchdown.

Second of the day.

[Peete] Had a good run at SC.

It was fun, man. We were winning.

I always believed that the best

quarterbacks were the guys

-that could do multiple things.

-Right.

So I would move around,

I would run around.

And then,

if you didn't allow me to do that,

I would also sit in the pocket

-and-and carve you up that way.

-Mmm.

-[Peete] Overall, it was just leadership.

-Exactly. Yeah.

-[Peete] That was what I brought

-Yeah.

[Peete] to the table

more than anything else.

Now, were you cautious about not running

and being more of a pocket passer?

-Or did-did it not matter?

-Man, I was.

I probably missed out on

-a lot of rushing touchdowns

-[Vick] Right.

because I was trying to

make sure I did a passing touchdown.

Because that's what

people were looking at.

-Then get labeled a running quarterback.

-And get labeled a running quarterback.

And all of a sudden,

you know how what happens after that.

Absolutely.

[commentator 2] Peete

down the middle. Touchdown.

Rodney, I was a big fan of you growing up.

And seeing a Black quarterback

on TV was amazing for me.

Because the more I could see,

the more guys that showed up

that looked like me,

the more I could dream my dream.

[Peete] To be able to play

quarterback at USC, all the tradition,

all the history and those rival games

against UCLA and Troy Aikman.

And in fact, my senior year, we were one,

two, or three throughout the whole season.

So everything came together.

Heisman Trophy was on the line, Rose Bowl

on the line, national title on the line.

And we ended up beating 'em in '87.

Then we got 'em again in '88.

[reporter] You are looking live

at the Marriott Marquis Ballroom

here in New York City as

the 1989 NFL draft is about to begin.

[Vick] The 1989 draft,

-you was drafted in the sixth round?

-Sixth round. Sixth round.

-[Vick] Aikman went earlier.

-Yeah.

[Vick] What'd it make you feel like?

Man, it was probably one

of the darkest, hardest days in my life.

You go through college, right?

You're going toe to toe with the guy

who is going to be drafted number one

and you beat him twice.

-Runner-up to the Heisman.

-Yeah.

May not be number-one pick,

but I'm-I'm gonna be close.

-Early. Early.

-I'm gonna be somewhere around there.

First round goes by. Nothing.

Second round.

-Then I'm seeing guys go off the board.

-Yeah.

[Peete] Quarterbacks from different

schools start to go off the board.

[Vick] They probably not even

-as good as you.

-Yeah.

The sixth round comes and Detroit calls

me, and I finally end up getting drafted.

[Vick] You probably looked around the NFL

and didn't see too many

other Black quarterbacks.

You end up having

a long, sustainable career.

You can't be just as good.

-You gotta be twice as good

-Yes.

[Peete] as that White quarterback,

otherwise you're not gonna get a shot.

At that time, 'cause I played baseball,

all family and friends, like,

-"Forget the NFL, go play baseball."

-"Go play baseball."

-"Go play baseball." But I just couldn't.

-Yeah.

I couldn't because there's

gonna be some other kids along the way.

They gonna say,

"Why didn't you play football?"

Like-Like me.

I was one of those kids watching you,

watching Randall, trying to visualize

and trying to dream my dream.

I just had to I had to go show

them that I could play quarterback.

[doorbell chimes]

[Harris] Mike.

-Mr. Shack Harris, how you doing?

-Come on in, man.

All right. Welcome.

-Thank you. Good to see you.

-Good to see you again.

Shack, I told you

I was gonna come find you.

Now, I'm here to see you

and talk some history.

Well, let's get to it.

Before we get started,

I want you to try this lemonade

and tell me it's not some of the best.

-Awesome. I thought you would never ask.

-[laughs]

That's amazing. Miss Harris made that?

That-That wasn't you.

-Help yourself. She's the best. [laughs]

-I'm taking that pitcher with me.

Thanks for the visit.

Good to talk a little football.

Absolutely. If you can give a scouting

report on yourself, what would it be?

Well, simply put,

I would say I wanted to win.

-[commentator 1] Tucks it in. Runs away.

-[commentator 2] Throws to the end zone.

[commentator 3]

Going deep down the sideline.

Played on some great teams

with some great players,

but my role was always

to get the ball to the playmaker

and make plays to win the game.

Coming out of high school, I was player

of the year in the state of Louisiana

and I fell in love

with Coach Eddie Robinson,

who had been to New York

and talked with Howard Cosell.

And Howard Cosell asked him,

"You produce so many professional players,

why you can't produce a quarterback?"

And that night, he came by my house

and he said,

"James, Howard Cosell said

right now, America is not ready

for a Black quarterback.

But if you come to Grambling,

in four years, you will be able to play."

What was it like growing up

in the Jim Crow South?

[Harris] Well,

I drank out the colored water fountain.

I rode on the back of the bus.

We used hand-me-down books,

but we did get a good education.

But our community was built

on hard work, credit and prayer.

Tell me a little bit about, you know,

just going through

the four years at Grambling

and then getting ready for, you know,

what Eddie Robinson said

the world would be ready for

in terms of a Black quarterback.

[Harris] Coach said

that I would get drafted high,

but they called me

and asked me to switch positions.

I told them that I wanted to be

a quarterback and I kept my word.

I was not switching.

But as we proceeded in

the draft process and I got to Buffalo,

I understood the reason why

we wasn't playing quarterback.

They said we weren't smart enough.

They said we couldn't lead

and they questioned our character.

But when I got to Buffalo,

I put all that behind me.

[crowd cheering]

[Vick] Shack, you became the

first Black quarterback to start a season,

but why do you think it took so long?

I think it's all about opportunity.

National Football League wasn't ready

for a Black quarterback

but it pales in our society.

It wasn't much I wasn't prepared for,

except for fan mail.

-I never thought about fan mail.

-How was that?

How was that, getting hate mail?

It was a challenge because fan hate mail,

where they would draw a stick,

put a noose around my neck,

put me on a tree,

different kinds of pictures.

There were death threats.

There'd be times at night

and you wanna kinda look around to make

sure and be very cautious at where you go.

I mean, that was the kind of conditions

that you had to kind of play through.

The worst experience that

I had was in LA when I got a death threat.

I've gotten them before,

but this was the first time

that the security met me at the hotel.

[Harris] And as I went to my room,

my roommate was Ron Jaworski.

He came in and I told Ron

what was going on

-because they had

-Yeah.

security outside the door.

And getting to the game that day

looking around while you warming up.

That takes a little out of you.

[crowd cheers]

[Vick] How did that make you feel?

Knowing that you had to go through that?

Because you're just trying to, like, be

the best football player that you can be

but you dealing with

all these things outside of football.

The most challenging thing

was trying to play perfect.

-You can't make a mistake

-[mutters] Yeah.

[Harris] playing quarterback.

You need to be relaxed.

I know Marlin Briscoe came

and joined you guys for a while.

Just talk about the ups and downs.

How did you lean on Marlin,

his experience, to-to help you?

[Harris] I had a lot of respect for Marlin

because when I was a junior

in high school,

he, Eldridge Dickey

and Jimmy Raye were seniors.

I used to go every Monday

and look up their stats and follow them.

It frustrated me

when he didn't get a chance to play,

but Marlin understood

exactly what I was going through

-and we were able to have

-Mm-hmm.

some good conversations.

I want to know

what you gonna do about having

more Black brothers as quarterbacks

in the National Football h*nky League.

-Right on.

-Yes.

I plan not only to have

lots of Black quarterbacks,

but we're gonna have Black coaches

and Black owners of teams.

As long as there's gonna be football,

gonna be some Black in it somewhere.

[Reid] Right on.

[Vick] Shack,

you're the first Black quarterback

to make the Pro Bowl, Pro Bowl MVP.

You was paving the way

for guys like myself,

Doug Williams, guys who was to come.

I played on a good team in LA

and the Pro Bowl.

Our staff was coaching it.

And when I got there,

I found out a lot of the players

didn't get serious

till the fourth quarter,

but I went there to win.

I ended up the most valuable player.

[Vick] You had

an immaculate career at Grambling.

Shack, last question.

Can you have the evolution

of the Black quarterback

without yourself, without HBCUs,

without Eddie Robinson?

No.

Walter Payton,

who was one of the top three rushers

in the history of the game,

is from a HBCU.

Yeah.

Jerry Rice, some say the best receiver

-The best. The best.

-that ever played the game.

HBCU.

Michael Strahan, HBCU.

Deacon Jones

-some people say

-Deacon Jones.

[Harris] is the best pass rusher

to ever play the game. HBCU.

Doug Williams, Art Shell,

Bob Hayes, Mel Blount.

HBCU.

You can't have an evolution

of football, period, without HBCUs.

Despite what some people in the country

might tell you,

America has a problematic racial history.

There was this big industry, way back

in the day, and it was called sl*very.

I know that some people are gonna tell you

that it never happened

or that it was awesome.

It was actually pretty bad.

And one of the things

that sl*very encompassed

was rules against

teaching sl*ves, uh, how to read

and against educating sl*ves.

Historically Black colleges

and universities

were founded just after the Civil w*r

to help educate freed sl*ves.

[Lathan] We wanted,

as Black people, to be educated.

We wanted to be equal parts

a-and equal participants

in the American dream

and the American experience.

And there was no way to do that

without having high-level education.

We couldn't go to some of

the other schools

that were educating

the rest of the minds in America.

They weren't gonna let you in there.

[Boyd] Schools in the South were

segregated and didn't sign Black athletes.

For this reason,

many of the great Black athletes

of a particular era went to HBCUs

because that was, perhaps,

the only option they had.

Shortly thereafter the-the foundation

of these institutions came athletics.

With the HBCU, the Black athlete

had a chance to not just play football,

but to play whatever position

they were skilled and prepared to play.

And that included quarterback.

["Watch Out Now" playing]

Common, what's up, baby?

-What's up, brother? How are you, man?

-I'm good, man. How about you?

I'm excellent.

-You look good. Thanks for joining me.

-Great to see you, man.

Man, it's an honor, bro. For real, man.

You mean a lot to me, to our culture.

[Vick] And that's what

we're gonna talk about

from an entertainment standpoint,

sports standpoint.

-And get your take on it.

-All right. Let's do it.

Watch out now ♪

[Vick] I know you attended a HBCU, FAMU.

Yes, sir. FAMU was everything

because the Black college experience

is just something

that gives you self-empowerment.

Yeah. I was gonna ask you about that.

[Common] It gives you a sense

of who you are on another level.

My mother went to a HBCU.

She went to Central State University

and my father went to Wilberforce.

How was the sports there?

How was football and the culture

ingrained into the student body?

You know, coming from Chicago,

I-I love hooping.

But when I went down South, the culture

at Black colleges was football.

-Saturdays meant something.

-[Vick] Yeah.

[Common] The whole culture of the bands,

the food.

[Vick] Crazy.

I really got, uh,

immersed in-in-into football too.

And learned more about Black colleges,

culture and-and

-the connection of football with that.

-Yeah.

[Vick] HBCUs had some amazing quarterbacks

from Steve McNair

to Shack Harris to Doug Williams.

When I say Doug Williams, like,

what-what comes to your mind?

[Common] I hope this don't sound too much,

but I almost look at it like

the first Black president.

Doug Williams felt like

the first Black quarterback.

When I hear the term Black quarterback,

I think of revolution.

I think of progress.

And I think of-of change

like it's Black power in a way

from a representation of Black leadership.

And I say progress

because the NFL, much like America,

didn't see Black men as being the leaders

that it takes to be a quarterback

and-and America never saw Black men

as being leaders

in society and just in communities.

That's been the change.

That's been the-the example,

that we've been able to see

change in society,

to set an example for people to understand

that Black men

can be leaders and great leaders.

-Yeah.

-Like [chuckles]

because some of the greatest quarterbacks

are Black quarterbacks.

Doug Williams broke down the barriers.

He broke down those barriers by example.

["Kingdom" playing]

I feel like we gotta

have more conversation, man,

and more dialogue on different levels.

But I got one question.

Common, I was one of the best freestylers

on the field when it came to

You draw a play out for me,

but then I can freestyle.

Second row of the church

With my hood on ♪

My homie used to rap

He was about to get put on ♪

You're a hell of a freestyler.

Hell of an artist.

Like, when you putting

those lyrics together

I know when I was doing

my thing on the field, like

How you come up

with the things to say, man,

that just really resonate with people?

My money ain't straight

My fam ain't straight ♪

Ain't wanna push keys

Heaven couldn't wait ♪

That's a great question.

And I never thought about it.

-You were freestyling out there. We-We

-Yeah [stammers]

[Common] You prepared.

You worked at the craft.

-This is what you love.

-Right.

God has blessed you with a gift,

like, and you develop that gift.

But then you're able

to be free enough in the mind

and in-in your spirit

and-and confident enough to be like

if something don't go this way,

then I know how to make it go

-Yeah.

-this way and get there.

Obviously watching you, you brought,

like, a whole lot of excitement.

To watch you freestyle

and have those talents to do it,

that made the game more

exciting for all of us, man.

R-Right. That was more recognizable. Yeah.

And it's funny because I've been in

situations where the system then went out,

-I just got a rhyme.

-Yeah.

And, man, one thing

with Black quarterbacks,

man, that's a gift

to do what you're doing.

-Right.

-You know, as much as it was like saying

that we want a quarterback

to stay in the pocket.

It's like, no, the-the goal is to win.

-Yeah, exactly.

-The goal is to move forward

-Yeah. For sure.

-and if you're moving forward,

-like and getting it done

-That's all that matters.

that's what matters.

[music continues]

[music ends]

-Coach, how you doing?

-Hey, Michael.

-Thank you for coming.

-Good to see you.

-Thanks for having me.

-Yeah.

[Vick] Amazing compound you got here.

I look forward to learning more about it

and, you know, spending some time

talking about Doug.

Doug Williams kept me in a job.

Welcome to Joe Gibbs Racing.

Any fans that visit, we tried to design it

so they could see a lot.

What's going on, baby? How y'all doing?

Oh, man.

You gotta be an athlete to get in here.

Well, whoever's driving this car

is way smaller than me.

[crew members laugh]

This car hard though. I like it.

I wanna take it back

to when you first met Doug

and when you arrived

on campus at Grambling.

What did you see?

And what was your first impression?

[Gibbs] It was very unusual.

I don't think I'd ever

done that before or after,

but Coach McKay said,

"Look, there's a quarterback at Grambling.

We got a first-round pick.

Go find out everything

you can about Doug."

And so I go over there

not knowing what's gonna happen.

-Yeah.

-And I spent three days with him,

-he was teaching classes.

-Okay.

I was sat in the back

of the room. [chuckles]

And then afterwards we go to McDonald's

and then we would get on the board

and talk football.

And I think I had

a real good feeling for Doug,

what kind of person he was and,

you know, football smarts.

So I go back to Coach and I said,

"Hey, Coach, this guy is really"

-He got it.

-"And I think if you do take him,

I think we got a solid guy

that could really do something special."

So, Coach, prior to you guys taking Doug,

why do you think there wasn't

a lot of Black quarterbacks in the league?

I have no idea.

I don't know how

something like that takes place

where people just were

hesitant or whatever.

I'm just glad that I was a part

of something that was totally different.

And you got Coach McKay who was a

really a person that just looked at talent

and was willing to say,

-"Hey, go look at this guy."

-"I don't see color." Yes.

And then have enough guts to take him.

Coach McKay stepped out and said,

"We're doing this."

You could immediately see the talent.

We would be in practice,

he would throw ba*ls

and the players would go like this,

they would go, "Did you see that?"

-[chuckles] Yeah.

-I mean, this guy could throw it.

-I mean, it was

-He had a m*ssile.

Immediately had a great presence

and everything.

I left after that year

and then Doug went on

-with Coach McKay

-Mm-hmm.

-Yeah. Did some good things.

-and they did some great things.

[crowd cheering]

[Vick] Speaking of that, you move on

and, uh and get the job in Washington.

And Doug moves on, go to the USFL,

but he'd find his way

back to you in Washington.

[Gibbs]

I love to have, uh, veteran backup.

I always wanted somebody there that

if you're in the playoffs or something,

you get a quarterback hurt,

you want somebody

that could take over and take it.

So that's how we got to Doug,

thinking he's gonna be a backup

and we go through that first year

and he didn't play much.

And then we got in a situation where

the Raiders started talking about a trade.

Doug. He wanted that,

you know what I mean?

-He wanted to play and I said

-Right.

"Doug, I really think you're gonna do

something great for us."

That wound up being the fantastic year.

[commentator] Loads it up,

a home run ball. He's there! Touchdown!

What prompted the decision

to-to go with Doug

late in the season f-for the playoffs?

You know, those things are always

I think it's got to be a real feeling,

a gut feeling.

We came down towards the end of the year

and Jay was a little off at times.

We put Doug in,

kind of a little bit back and forth.

And then for the last game of the season,

we put Doug in.

And after that game,

we all sat down as a staff and everything

and said we need to go

with Doug in the playoffs.

-He's gonna guide us to the promised land.

-[fan] Yes. Moses.

Super Bowl XXII.

[Menefee] Well,

it was a big deal for Doug Williams

to not only play in the Super Bowl,

but just to get there.

I mean, until he was drafted in the

first round by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers,

not only had there never been

a Black quarterback

drafted in the first round

by the National Football League,

there hadn't been one drafted

above the sixth round.

So for the Bucs to draft him 17th overall

in the first round, it was a big deal.

And that Buccaneers team started off,

they lost their first 26 games

but he turned them around.

And in their third year,

NFC championship game.

Then he found himself

out of the National Football League.

[Bell] Contract time.

There was a major, major stalemate.

And Doug Williams ends up leaving Tampa

and has to go to the USFL

to continue his football career.

You had the race factor

where someone was not willing

to pay a Black man his market value.

There was no guarantee that Doug Williams

was ever going to get back to the NFL.

Just leading up to that week,

I don't know if you can explain to people

the feeling was palpable

no matter where you were in the country.

Just the excitement and the feeling

of people wanting to see Doug Williams

not only play in the Super Bowl

but succeed.

Particularly Black people.

That week, the hype around Doug

was the first Black quarterback

to play in the Super Bowl.

Some reporter asked Doug,

"Have you always been

a Black quarterback?"

[reporter] Have you always been

a Black quarterback, uh, Doug?

[Boyd] So, to ask Doug Williams

how long he had been a Black quarterback,

to me is sort of comical in its stupidity.

But it also speaks to how unusual

it was to have a Black quarterback

starting for a team

competing in the Super Bowl.

And the Denver Broncos, by the way,

were favored to win

that game with John Elway.

John Elway is significant

in sports history for a lot of reasons.

He's significant

because of his prodigious talent.

Maybe the greatest sporting prospect

at that time ever.

Probably could have gone on and been

a Hall of Famer in major league baseball,

but he was also

the quintessential golden boy.

California kid. That matters.

Handsome, blond kid. That matters.

The talent and the game to back it up.

That matters.

So what you essentially have

in that Super Bowl game

is Doug Williams playing the disruptor,

not only to

the Broncos' Super Bowl chances,

he's playing the disruptor

to the idea of the golden boy.

And here is somebody who is

decidedly not golden,

we're talking about from Louisiana,

from an HBCU.

Someone whose career

had tremendous ups and downs,

be coming off the bench to do this.

Elway went on to submit

his golden boy status,

but he didn't get it done that Sunday.

[Vick] What's up, baby?

[chuckles] Mike, what's happening, man?

The house that Doug and Eddie built.

[Williams] Hey, I-I-I was a layman.

I just rolled the seat in there.

You know, when you talk about

this house, all Eddie Robinson.

This is Eddie Robinson's vision.

Unbelievable, man.

So let me ask you this.

What prompted you to play quarterback?

You know, throw the pill?

[Williams] When I was ninth grade,

I was a little guy.

-I was 5'5" in ninth grade.

-That's little. I was bigger than you.

-Yeah, in ninth [laughs]

-[chuckles]

Then going into my tenth-grade year,

you know, I went up to 6 feet tall.

By junior year,

Coach put me in as quarterback that year.

And I stayed there, and, you know, I was

small in school. Wasn't recruited a lot.

The SEC was not playing

a Black quarterback.

[Vick] Okay.

[Williams] The only guy that had played

in the SEC was Condredge Holloway,

-who had played with Tennessee.

-Right.

[Williams]

So schools like that didn't recruit me.

But Jackson State, Tennessee State,

Mississippi Valley, uh,

Southern University, and Grambling.

And, you know, every Sunday,

Coach Rob was on TV.

-[Vick] Right. Couldn't beat that.

-All they did was win.

And my mom, to be honest with you,

is the reason why I ended up at Grambling.

Mom like, "You gotta go."

And Coach Rob, bless his soul,

called my mom,

-uh, late one night

-Yeah.

and my mom came in

and shook me and woke me up.

She said, "Hey, you going to Grambling."

-I said, "What?"

-"What?"

[Williams] She said, "I just got

off the phone with Coach Robinson.

-He said you're going to class"

-Mm-hmm.

[Williams] "you gonna graduate,

and you're gonna go to church."

-[Vick] Mmm.

-That's all they had to say.

[Vick] And so, you-you going

through this time playing quarterback,

and you're starting to like it,

and then you're looking around

and you don't see nobody

that look like you.

So who was some of the quarterbacks

that you idolized growing up?

The guy that-that resonated with me more

than anything is James "Shack" Harris.

[commentator] Loads it up,

throws down deep.

Got it! Touchdown.

[Williams] He had played here before me,

and Shack Harris used to always come back.

[Vick] Wow. So Shack was a big influence.

I was lucky, you know. I got

an older brother who I call my mentor.

-But I got another brother, Shack Harris

-Yeah.

-[Williams] who was my mentor.

-Yeah.

And that's why I'm going on this journey

to talk about

the evolution of the position.

A lot of people come up

to me and-and they say,

"You changed the game." I'm like,

"It wasn't me that changed the game.

It was Moon, it was Donovan, it was Doug."

And so, it-it's an opportunity

for me to pay homage.

But also to enlighten people

on how we got to where we are today.

[Williams] Right.

Look around this league now.

I could be wrong,

but the next five to six, seven years,

half of the quarterbacks

in this league gonna be Black.

I like Brady.

-I like Aaron Rodgers.

-Yes.

But do the Black quarterback

give me a special interest? Yeah.

-That's being honest.

-Yeah. That's fair.

-There's a reason why though.

-Right.

Because a long, long time ago, we all

didn't have that opportunity to play.

When you watch the game today

and the quarterbacks, the Lamar Jacksons,

the Jalen Hurtses, the Kyler Murrays,

what do you say to yourself

knowing that it's a totally different era

than where you started?

[reporter] Coaches,

most of whom are White,

seem to believe that Blacks are

superior athletes but inferior thinkers.

[Williams] At the end of the day,

when I came in,

every article that was written was always

either Tampa's Black quarterback,

or Doug Williams,

the Black quarterback of Tampa.

-That-That-That is just not involved now

-Right.

and when you see Jalen and Lamar

and Patrick Mahomes and Russell Wilson,

now you got a chance.

Just watch them play, man,

and see how they play.

It tells you that the old myth

that there used to be,

we wasn't smart enough

to play that position.

[Vick] Yeah.

These guys doing the same thing that

anybody else has been doing for years.

It's just a matter of giving them

an opportunity to get it done.

And so you was drafted

in the first round to Tampa Bay.

A lot of people don't know,

but that's history within itself.

[Williams] When I came out, I was

the first 17th pick in the first round,

but Tampa had the first pick.

-They traded to Houston

-Ah.

[Williams] 'cause they knew,

back in 1978, they knew.

Nobody was going to draft

a Black quarterback in the first round.

So they took their chances,

and I was sitting there when they picked,

which was all right with me.

Man asked Coach Robinson,

"What do you think it's gonna take

for Doug Williams to succeed in the NFL?"

An opportunity to play.

Just a chance.

And didn't say nothing else.

-That was it. That resonated.

-[chuckling]

[both chuckling]

[Williams] Joe Gibbs, well,

he was working at Tampa at that time

and told John McKay that

if we wanted a franchise quarterback,

we gotta draft the kid out of Grambling.

Let me say this.

John McKay didn't c-care anything about

the color of your skin.

It was about the athlete.

["Old Landmark" playing]

-Now let us all ♪

-All go back ♪

-Back to the old ♪

-Old landmark ♪

[commentator 1] Can you believe it?

-Go back to the old ♪

-Old landmark ♪

Could you play?

-Go back to the old landmark ♪

-Old landmark ♪

Then we'll stay

In the service of the lord ♪

-Now let us kneel ♪

-Kneel and pray ♪

-Kneel in the old ♪

-Old time way ♪

Five years that I spent with

John McKay was five great years.

Kneel and pray ♪

-In the old time way ♪

-Old time way ♪

-He will hear us and be ♪

-Hear us ♪

We'll be given bread from heaven ♪

He will feed us until we want no more ♪

Preachers preach ♪

[commentator 2] He's got some room.

Gets a good block and in!

Dougie!

[commentator 2] Threw a b*llet into

the end zone. Caught! Touchdown!

Holy moly.

Sons and daughters buried in the water ♪

Coming up shouting

Nobody doubting ♪

-Everybody ♪

-Happy in the service of the lord ♪

-[vocalizes]

-All go back ♪

[music ends]

[Vick] Still, going through those times,

you got hate mail.

[Williams] It wasn't easy.

When you're young, you don't know.

You open them and no address on it.

They say all types of things.

And there was a box that was,

I mean, nicely wrapped.

I don't know who would spend

that kind of time wrapping this box, man.

And I opened it, and-and lo and behold,

I opened this box, a rotten watermelon

and a note that say,

"Throw this to these N's."

[stammers] "They should catch this."

And that was the-the thing that took

broke the camel's back.

From then on, if it was a no address,

no return address, I didn't even open it.

I threw it in the trash can.

My dad always told me,

"You got to be a couple of steps ahead

of the other guy to get a chance to play."

-Yeah.

-So I felt like everywhere I've been,

I was probably twice better

than the other guy,

I got a chance to shine.

John McKay was that guy.

[stammers] Joe Gibbs was that guy,

and I appreciate both of those guys

for-for looking at it and understanding

that he's the best talent.

-That he needs to play.

-[Vick] Right.

You mentioned Coach Gibbs.

So I just wanna know a little bit more

about that relationship.

The reason why I ended up in Washington

was because of Joe Gibbs.

I went to the USFL. When the USFL folded,

I got one phone call.

-Yeah. That was Joe.

-Joe Gibbs.

He asked me, could I come to-to Washington

to be the backup quarterback?

So I ended up in Washington in 1986.

-[stammers]

-That's it.

And you get to Washington in 1986.

Jay Schroeder's the starter.

You come in with a mind-set.

How did you end up on the field

and ultimately in the Super Bowl?

[Williams] I played one game in 1986.

I threw one pass.

That was another game. In the championship

game against the New York Giants,

Lawrence Taylor came off the edge,

and hit Jay Schroeder.

[commentator 1]

Schroeder down on one knee.

Coach Gibbs was gonna put me in the game.

So I ran halfway out on the field.

I'll never forget this, and I looked up,

Jay Schroeder waved me off,

-told me to get back

-[sighs]

-and I did a U-turn.

-One of those.

[commentator 1] Schroeder waved him off

and said, "Get out of here. I'm okay."

[Williams] That was the worst moment

of my whole football career.

'87, the next season came up.

The first game of the year, he got hurt.

And I came off the bench,

and we beat Philadelphia,

-like, 34-24.

-[Vick] Yeah.

[commentator 2]

Touchdown, Washington Redskins.

[commentator 3] Oh,

he threaded the needle right there.

[Williams] And I guess the legend

of Doug Williams was beginning to be born.

We played up at Minnesota.

The last game of the year,

December 26th, and we was behind.

Coach Gibbs put me in.

I hit Ricky Sanders,

and we ended up kicking a field goal

and winning that game.

[teammates cheering]

[Gibbs] Way to go, man.

Way to go, Douglas.

And after the game,

Coach Gibbs's press conference,

nobody had an idea, and he said that

his starting quarterback for the playoffs

was going to be Doug Williams.

-So everybody was shocked.

-Statement.

[Williams] Everybody was shocked.

[Vick] And so,

you're going through this time,

you get to the Super Bowl.

Take us through that week.

What's going through your head, Doug?

'Cause now this is a big moment.

You making history.

Very big moment, man.

That whole week was

a week where everybody, these reporters,

-everybody camping out to get a story.

-Right.

And the story that week

was the Black quarterback

-[Vick] Right.

-Doug Williams.

I wouldn't even come out of my room.

Jimmie Giles, my teammate in Tampa,

called me one night.

He said, "Hey, let's go to dinner."

I said, "Man, I ain't coming out there.

I don't want to be dealing

with the media."

-Right, right, right.

-Saturday morning,

I woke up, and I had a toothache

and I couldn't go, man.

He said, "Hey, you gotta do a root canal."

-[groans] So the day before the game?

-Saturday, the day before the game, man.

I sat in the sat in the seat for

four hours and had a four-hour root canal.

I woke up the next morning, felt no pain.

-Wow.

-None.

Man, I-I could not believe it.

I got on that bus

and going into San Diego,

going out to Jack Murphy Stadium, man.

And so many things was going through

my mind as to how did I get here?

The people that I had to thank

-for getting me here

-I can only imagine.

and the people I had to tell

which way to go.

-Right. Right. Right.

-[laughs]

[reporter] Doug Williams,

he is a man about to step solidly

into the pages of social history today.

[Vick] Man,

that had to have been an exciting moment.

I'm seven years old, I watched the game.

You light it up.

[commentator 1] Williams going up top,

got Sanders on the fly at midfield.

He's gone. Touchdown, Washington Redskins!

[Vick] Went down ten,

came back and scored maybe 45 unanswered.

-[commentator 1] He's got it. Touchdown!

-[commentator 2] In the clear at the ten.

Touchdown, Washington Redskins!

[commentator 3] We are seeing

a virtuoso performance.

Doug Williams, he is having

a dream day for a quarterback.

This is history in the making.

[commentator 4] The first

Black quarterback to win a Super Bowl.

I hope he puts to bed once and for all

about the Black athlete

in professional football.

-When it was over, to walk off that field

-Yeah.

-with my hand held high in the air

-Yeah.

[Williams] man,

so many things was going across my mind.

You talk about the Super Bowl.

It ain't about me and my family.

It's about everywhere I go,

people always say,

-[Vick] Yeah.

-"Man, I remember that day."

[Vick] Doug,

why is winning the Super Bowl,

to this day, still so important for you?

Well, not only for me, but I think

for the National Football League.

The impact of a Black man getting a chance

to start in the Super Bowl,

win the Super Bowl and MVP.

If they write a story

on the National Football League,

could they leave you out of it?

-No.

-That's the impact.

-Wow.

-That's the impact.

-That sums it up right there.

-Yeah.

Wow, that sums it up. That's amazing.

[Vick] Sometimes a myth sticks

until it gets shattered.

The fact is, you can break the history

of the NFL down into two eras.

Before Doug Williams, many thought

Black men couldn't play quarterback.

After Doug Williams,

things would never be the same.

[crowd chanting]

We want Doug! We want Doug!