The Tennessee Titans and Ran Carthon made franchise history this past week, as Carthon became the team’s first Black general manager.
Initially, Carthon didn’t even realize he was making history. In fact, it was his aunt who brought it up in a text after he got the job, and that’s when it dawned on him.
“My aunt, who is here, she texted me and asked and I was like ‘honestly, I don’t know.’ And she was like, ‘well you might want to find out.’ So, that’s when it dawned on me that I was the first Black GM in Titans history,” Carthon explained with a smile.
Carthon called his making history as the franchise’s first Black GM “very significant.” He also says he’s just focused on being “the best me.”
“It’s very significant,” Carthon said, per Easton Freeze of Broadway Sports Media. “I understand I’m standing on the shoulders of giants, and there have been plenty of men that have come before me that have laid this foundation that allowed me to be in this spot. And it’s paramount in my mind to do the work and be successful to leave the door open for other black men who are coming behind me, because there are a lot of talented young black men who can do the job, they just need the opportunity.
“I don’t go out seeking to be the first black anything. I just want to be the best me. I’m very prideful. I just wanna be the best,” he added. “I don’t care if it’s black, I don’t care if it’s white, I just wanna be the best.”
