ABC's The Bachelor has been under fire this spring, with American audiences finally seemingly noticing that the wildly-popular "reality" romance competition has never once cast a non-white contestant in the show's title role since its 16-season run began in 2002. Same goes for the seven seasons of its Bachelorette spinoff.

A mass of opinion pieces have popped up in the wake of last week's announcement that two African-American men filed a class-action lawsuit against The Bachelor producers and the ABC network for purposeful discrimination against people of color.

While attending a 2007 opening casting call for the series in Nashville, Nathaniel Claybrooks and Christopher Johnson claim their interviews took half the time as those with white contestants — with discriminatory casting practices also allegedly happening across the country. The class-action lawyers say that a dozen other people will join the suit.

CultureMap spoke with Houston-native Lamar Hurd — whose friends recently launched the viral "First Black Bachelor" video campaign on his behalf — for details on his own journey through the application process.

"Honestly, what those guys have going on has nothing to do with me," Hurd says. "I don't really know their full experience, so I view it as their own situation." Hurd notes that he had no issues with race thus far and that the contact he's had with ABC executives has been consistently positive.

"If they don't pick me, I'll find my way out the door without a lawsuit," Hurd says. "I've met a ton of cool people while applying for The Bachelor and got a lot of support from friends and family. I'm thankful for that."

A television sportscaster based in Portland, Ore., where he also operates a youth basketball program, Hurd is reported to be in final talks with the show's producers.

"I haven't dated in the last five years and look forward to the opportunity to meet the right person," he laughs. "I know that sounds opportunistic, but its totally true."