African American Quaterbacks - Lack of talent or discrimination

    I am still a novice when it comes to football. I just started watching football very recently, just this season and have probably watched 6-7 games totally. I could not help but ask myself about the number of African-American quarterbacks in all the teams put together. As far as I understand the game, quarterback is the most important and strategic position of all. They are the highest paid position in the game.

    Currently the African-American quarterbacks constitute only 16% of all the quarterbacks put together (127 total quarterbacks). I did some research through the NFL.com website on the player profile. I find it very odd that the game which is almost 70% (websites quote that number, which seems plausible) dominated by African-Americans has such a low percentage of quarterbacks.

    What is the reason, if any ? Is it lack of talent ? Or Is it discrimination ? I do not want to pick either. On one hand, I find it very hard to believe that there is any lack of talent, hard work, enthusiasm or skills that is required to become a quarterback. On the other hand I sincerely hope that there is no discrimination. I am still waiting for the answer.
   

Organ Donation

    I do not know much about Mr. Jyoti Basu or his politics, except that he was the longest serving chief minister of West Bengal (for that matter any Indian state), one of the eastern states of India. He had been the beacon for West Bengal politics and had been a mentor for many of his comrades, including the current chief minister. He breathed his last on Jan 17th, 2010. When I first heard the news of his death I thought it was good that he did not struggle for his death, which was good for him and the state. States usually would spend tons and tons of money on their politicians, just to keep them "alive". But he went one step ahead, in his death he has shown us all a path towards immortality. He decided to donate his body for a very noble cause - medical research.

    This reminds me of a story that Prof. Barry Shwartz had once mentioned in one of his articles. He said that it was seen that British donate their organs more often than Americans. It was not as if Americans were less inclined to donate, rather it turned out that the driver's license in America had a default opt-out of organ donation whereas Britain had a default opt-in. So, it was just the difference in how the policy was framed.

    It is in human nature that we want to take the path of least resistance, therefore we do not take active steps towards addressing these issues. I am sure if it is made easier where in every country adopts this automatic opt-in policy for organ donation, people would agree to it and would come forward to do so. In that sense Jyoti Basu has been a true leader.