Black Media Breakdown : The Running Back Video
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This video discusses the real reasons why NFL running backs have become “devalued” and seeks to expose how this process of devaluation is not only a deliberate alteration of the nature of the game for “good business” but it also fits into a historical tradition of premiere black athletes being marginalized in sports they helped to build.
Featuring former NFL running back Arion Foster @bobbyfeeno and former 1st round draft pick Aaron Maybin @AaronMaybinArt
special shout out to @laborkyle for helping me refine my ideas and terminology on the topic.
00:00 The Plight of Saquan Barkley
10:18 “Workplace Evolution”
23:38 “For the Good of the Sport”
47:09 A famous Malcom X Quote
Edited by @RealSpacial
Graphics and support editing by @NeedlessNick
How Black Athletes are Exploited – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABEa3P3a6Wk&t=3524s&pp=ygUUZi5kIHNpZ25pZmllciBzcG9ydHM%3D
@lilbilliam on Allen Iverson’s legacy – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVgJmOmlS3M&t=3127s&pp=ygUQbGlsIGJpbGwgaXZlcnNvbg%3D%3D
@luispatino9750
June 16, 2026 at 9:52 pm
My Texans GOAT Arian Foster! Didn't get enough flowers when he was with us.
@vollandt
June 16, 2026 at 9:52 pm
Bezos didn't depend on his family to start amazon. He waled away form a lucrative career in finance and started amazon with 300k of his own money in 1994. He sold his family 6% stake for 250k a year later, but he could have gotten a similar deal from a venture capital firm.
@vollandt
June 16, 2026 at 9:52 pm
capitalism is about value. produce what others value. hard-work and talent doesn't' necessarily produce value.
@ruffiankick
June 16, 2026 at 9:52 pm
1:13:28 bumblaclaat 😂🤣🤣
@markprecious
June 16, 2026 at 9:52 pm
“These ideas that somehow get out there.” Yeah, it’s amazing what billions invested in think tanks and political campaigns can accomplish. It’s why I refuse to ask what we on the Left are “doing wrong”. We could do everything perfectly — all be Mamdanis — and still be barely accomplishing anything in electoral politics. The most effective of the ideas that get out there is victim blaming.
@mattifolks
June 16, 2026 at 9:52 pm
The rookie contract levels are set by the league. It's the signing bonus where the negotiations come in.
@Thee_Negusking72
June 16, 2026 at 9:52 pm
18:27 this aged HORRIBLE lmfaoo but who could’ve known 🤣🤣
@AdventuresByGG
June 16, 2026 at 9:52 pm
Wtf happened to Bobby feeno
@BlckPollen
June 16, 2026 at 9:52 pm
Immediately thought of this video after K9 won mvp
@PickleJam300_Jbq
June 16, 2026 at 9:52 pm
Bruh I went to go get something and somehow the video went from running backs to apple factories having anti suicide nets
@JimBallzzz
June 16, 2026 at 9:52 pm
I totally understand the sentiment of this video and it definitely still rings true but man focusing this video on Barkley only to see him go to the Eagles and win a Super Bowl didn’t age well
@danmcmurphy2823
June 16, 2026 at 9:52 pm
Yooo Arian Foster my favorite pka guest
@ollolool
June 16, 2026 at 9:52 pm
Well the phrase ‘socially necessary’ pulls so much weight in Marxist theory. “Yes this football thing tickles my fancy, it shall be subject to the forces of the market”
@rockstardeath8558
June 16, 2026 at 9:52 pm
The real question is: does FD watch Check the Mic all the time or just when the bears are in the playoffs?
@brennanbeyer5645
June 16, 2026 at 9:52 pm
Love Arian Foster rocking TMNT on his shelf! Screen passes are the new handoffs.
@chrisg8995
June 16, 2026 at 9:52 pm
I would argue football doesn’t matter. Sports are divisive but divide under the illusion of helping to build teamwork.
@gheebuttersnaps13
June 16, 2026 at 9:52 pm
53:03 two years out and James Cook led the league in rushing this season after getting a pretty decent contract extension while Dalvin is all but out of the league 😂
@Avgskilledgamer
June 16, 2026 at 9:52 pm
Nflpa needs more power in bargaining rights and restructuring pay across the rosters
@Avgskilledgamer
June 16, 2026 at 9:52 pm
James cook is currently leading the league in rushing. Although i understand the underlying sentiment this video has. A couple years later james cook is paying off for the bills.
@bobcougar77
June 16, 2026 at 9:52 pm
Running backs don't matter because they are not unique. You don't have to be an outlier in height or weight to be a running back. If you look at the population and want to find a freak athlete that is 5'11", 200lbs you will find infinitely more of them than you will find a freak athlete that is ALSO 6'5, 300. Sure, some NFL running backs are better than others, but the delta isn't nearly as great as it is amongst linemen. I would argue that most "great" running backs also have great offensive linemen. Remember Shawn Alexander? Had one of the best years in NFL history as a soft running back. … Also had 2 potential GOATS opening up freeway sized holes in front of him in Steve Hutchinson and Walter Jones. The next year, when those guys were gone? Below average.
Just think about it: How many people do you know that are 6"5, 300? How many of them are even slightly athletic? Not many. They are exponentially more rare than average sized guys being great athletes.
@nmociahfgow
June 16, 2026 at 9:52 pm
football
@BalloonMerchant
June 16, 2026 at 9:52 pm
11:22 I will direct your attention to Nathan MacKinnon’s coast to coast goal against St. Louis in the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
@mintyfresh588
June 16, 2026 at 9:52 pm
I watch ONE of your sports videos and now I cant stop getting football related ads. Thanks
@natecc1412
June 16, 2026 at 9:52 pm
6:50 what's so ironic about this is both of them ended up being really good lol
@annguyen3892
June 16, 2026 at 9:52 pm
As a houstonian who kinda just knew about football in the early 2010s i always wondered why the moment i heard about arian foster he was already retired, and then i only heard about him in term of how good he was at retiring compared to other football players. Looking him up he was a running back, explained so much.
@ramentaco9179
June 16, 2026 at 9:52 pm
reminds me of how indentured servants were worked to death so the owners got maximum profits
@therealestsista
June 16, 2026 at 9:52 pm
***THX FOR YOUR VIDEO 📷 😎!****However as a Grandmother with a Grandson playing HIGHSCHOOL SOPHOMORE RB & JUNIOR DEFENSE? I WORRY!** I WORRY Because? Football is BRUTAL to began with 🤕! With a RUNNING-BACKER, They take the Very Most Hits (especially when you have a non throwing QB like Dillon GABRIELLE & NOT a NATURAL TALENT ARM LIKE **SHEDEUR SANDERS, Who Throws DOWNFIELD 😎!** Will eventually get terribly Hurt 🤕 in time 😔! Anyways? ***THE NFL MUST STOP ALLOWING, ONCE THE PLAY IS MADE/PERSON TACKLED BY 1 OR 2 GUYS, ****IT'S NOT NECESSARY FOR 5-8 250-350 LBS GUYS TO PILE UP ON EACH OTHER AFTER THE TACKLE! JEEEZE!****HOLY MOTHER OF JESUS!***
@apocrypha5363
June 16, 2026 at 9:52 pm
As a non-American who has always been told that America adores capitalism and almost worships it… It's always stunned me how anti-capitalist their sports are.
Bad teams don't get relegated, players can't negotiate their labour during a massive chunk of their careers, the TV deals essentially force you to support the local team…
It's so cronyist.
@JustABoy225
June 16, 2026 at 9:52 pm
19:00 crazy he said this stuff before Barkley went to the eagles and Hunt went to the chiefs lol
@th3Tyk3
June 16, 2026 at 9:52 pm
I miss 2010s football. There was a great balance between physical and skill play.
@anthonyaccurate
June 16, 2026 at 9:52 pm
And yet the Eagles gave him a $41 million extension in March 2025, with $36 million guaranteed less than year after signing him to a $38 million contract with $26 million guaranteed, so much for “not mattering”.
@crystalbuabeng361
June 16, 2026 at 9:52 pm
Had to run this back after watching Him. It’s all I could think about the entire time
@johannao4849
June 16, 2026 at 9:52 pm
There! I watched it! Are you happy now?!
Comments are closed.