Donovan McNabb has said that there is more pressure, criticism, and scrutiny on black quarterbacks than white quarterbacks (ESPN). Without fully addressing whether this is true or not, I want to make one thing clear: McNabb is not wrong to discuss the issue, or present his opinion on the issue. To say McNabb is out of line means either pretending that America's history of racism is all in the past (it's clearly not), or denying the history of racial stereotypes about the quarterback position in particular. I want Donovan McNabb to speak up on this issue, and to express his feelings and experiences clearly. Good for him. Addendum: Stephanie Stradley at Fanhouse has a thoughtful post on McNabb's comments.
Byron Leftwich is now an Atlanta Falcon (ESPN). Leftwich hasn't found himself in a situation where it appears he can thrive and win soon. However, hopefully he's found himself in a place where he's wanted, and can build a successful career. I think he'll look good in the Falcon jersey, which is all that really matters to me.
The Star Tribune reports that Tarvaris Jackson may not be able to play Sunday because of his groin injury, which would be all the excuse the team needs to go to man myth legend Kelly Holcomb. However, the Pioneer Press reports that "Jackson still has the support of his coach and teammates after an abysmal performance in Detroit." The Ragnarok talks about the low point of the Tarvaris Revolution, but believes the Revolution will still be successful.
Of course McNabb is not "wrong" to express his opinion. However, neither is anybody else "wrong" to opine that no person's feelings about the way they have been treated is established as a reasonable facsimile for the empirical truth of whether or not a larger group is treated unfairly due to race. McNabb could be right; it's a 50-50 proposition, after all. On the other hand, Philly is a town where the greatest third baseman in history not named Alex Rodriguez (and the Philly guy was better defensively) was booed derisively, and he was as white as they come, so who really knows?
ReplyDeleteBlack or white, if you win the fans love you. McNabb had no complaints a couple years ago when they were winning and getting to the Super Bowl and the fans loved him.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if Rex Grossman would agree with McNabb.
ReplyDeletePlaying the race card is lame... Yea right Mcnabb people sit around and try to figure out which black QB they want to be hard on.... That's idiotic... Are McNabb & Chilli Twins??
ReplyDeleteGrossman and McNabb are hardly apt comparisons; McNabb is about 100 times better than Grossman.
ReplyDeleteAnon 4, what's really lame is when people try to have serious discussions about race, and get accused of "playing the race card." That's idiotic. Can we even have a serious discussion about race, racism, and racial stereotypes in America, without somebody getting accused of "playing the race card"? Race is still an issue in this country. The way to deal with issues is to talk about it; if we can't be honest about it, there's really little hope for progress. So why does McNabb (or anybody) need to be accused of "playing the race card," i.e., injecting race into an area where race isn't a factor, when we know, just by looking at society, that race is quite clearly a factor in our society? There are overt racists that want people like McNabb to fail, and there are subtle forms of unconscious racial stereotypes and racism that influence how people view matters.
So I guess I'm making it clear that I think there's some truth to what McNabb says. But what really drives me crazy is when simply addressing racism (which as Stradley suggests, McNabb has surely faced) means getting accused of "playing the race card."
it's difficult to figure if mcnabb is right as far as the amount of criticism... i don't know if mcnabb has it worse than steve young did when he was failing to win super bowls. mcnabb is much better than grossman and everyone knows this and that's where some of the increased scrutiny comes from-- our perception that mcnabb should have accomplished that much more considering his conference, his team, his abilities. so i don't know if he's criticized more but i think the nature of the criticism is certainly different. when grossman plays poorly he's an idiot, when steve young failed to beat the cowboys he wasn't joy montana, when mcnabb plays poorly he was always a little overrated because he's black.
ReplyDeletei know it's popular amongst eagles to act like donovan mcnabb is the only qb who is criticized anymore but that's ridiculous. so who knows? i do agree most people automatically view others differently based on background and race.
Justified or not, is this the beginning of the end for McNabb in Philly? Some fans will undoubtedly take this as whining and excuse-making, and a small undercurrent of negativity can grow into a bit one in a hurry in that city, particularly with a successor waiting.
ReplyDeletePart of me hopes Philly fans run McNabb out of town: I can think of one team that wears purple jerseys, and is coached by McNabb's former offensive coordinator, that could use a QB of McNabb's caliber. A lot has to happen with both franchises for that to happen, of course, but still, let me dream.
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