The Eagles quarterback's health crisis exposed a double standard that goes far beyond the NFL

Published October 21, 2026 10:30AM (EDT)

Jalen Hurts #1 of the Philadelphia Eagles yells before a game against the Los Angeles Rams at Lincoln Financial Field on October 04, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)

Jalen Hurts, the Philadelphia Eagles’ starting quarterback, is out for the season to recover from a deep vein blood clot, found after arriving in London for the game in which Hurts played between the Eagles and the Jacksonville Jaguars.

A Philadelphia sports columnist argued a few years ago that if Brock Purdy, the San Francisco 49ers quarterback, were the Eagles quarterback, he “would be a god in Philadelphia,” because of his underdog story. Hurts is an underdog as well. The difference is that Hurts is Black and Purdy is white.…