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One-time Chiefs kicker Justin Medlock is having a good 2012 season so far with the Carolina Panthers. He made five field goals in Carolina's 23-22 loss to Chicago last Sunday, which improved him to 7-for-7 so far this year.
Medlock, 29, played his college ball at UCLA and earned All-American honors his senior year. He was drafted by Kansas City with a fifth-round pick in the 2007 NFL draft, which made him the first African-American to be selected in the draft, but was released in Sept. 2007 after some early season inconsistency. Medlock played portions of three seasons in the Canadian Football League before the Panthers signed him in March of this year.
Medlock says that the combination of his position and his color sometimes causes double takes on the field:
"A lot of people stereotype that position, but it's just a stereotype. I get it all the time. Sometimes on the field you can hear them while I'm warming up. You can hear the wide receivers saying, 'Oh! That's a black kicker?'"
Medlock won the starting job in camp over Olindo Mare and has handled kickoffs for the Panthers this year.