Donovan McNabb, quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles (a storied National Football League franchise), recently said in a televised interview that he is unfairly scrutinized by media and fans because he is black. He defended his comments a few days after the interview aired on HBO.
McNabb claimed that “there [are] not that many African-American quarterbacks, so we have to do a little bit extra” and that white quarterbacks like Carson Palmer and Peyton Manning “don’t get criticized as much as we [black QBs] do.”
Somewhere, Rush Limbaugh is smiling.
McNabb is the same quarterback to whom conservative radio show host Limbaugh referred when he said (in 2003) that the media want him to succeed, in part, because he is black. Limbaugh resigned from ESPN within a week of making that statement due to the delayed media firestorm that erupted in the following days. In fact, these were Limbaugh’s exact words:
"I think what we've had here is a little social concern in the NFL. The media has been very desirous that a black quarterback do well. There is a little hope invested in McNabb, and he got a lot of credit for the performance of this team that he didn't deserve. The defense carried this team."
Here is an excerpt from anOctober 2, 2003, story posted on ESPN’s web site:
Negative reaction did not come immediately. But on Tuesday, McNabb told the Philadelphia Daily News: "It's sad that you've got to go to skin color. I thought we were through with that whole deal."
From there, the firestorm spread quickly. Democratic presidential candidates Wesley Clark, Howard Dean and Rev. Al Sharpton called for ESPN to fire Limbaugh. Others in both political and athletic circles also lashed out at Limbaugh's comments.
The National Association of Black Journalists also called for ESPN to "separate itself" from Limbaugh.
"ESPN's credibility as a journalism entity is at stake," NABJ president Herbert Lowe said in a news release." It needs to send a clear signal that the subjects of race and equal opportunity are taken seriously at its news outlets."
McNabb also provided more reaction on Wednesday.
"It's somewhat shocking to hear that on national TV from him," McNabb said. "It's not something that I can sit here and say won't bother me."
To be specific, Wesley Clark accused Limbaugh’s opinion as being “hateful and ignorant speech.” Howard Dean, now Democratic National Committee chair, said, "To imply that the success of an African-American is an undeserved gift from a biased media is absurd and offensive.” Then NAACP-president Kweisi Mfume said the following: "If this is the future of ESPN, I think fair-minded fans, who tune in for sports news coverage, and not for racist views, should get their sports on other networks. It is appalling that ESPN has to go to this extent to try to increase viewership."
And, of course, Al Sharpton called for a boycott of ESPN and said, "We cannot sit back in silence. That would be consent and we would have lost self-respect."
Some popular sports critics also contributed to the debate. One of ESPN’s highest-rated shows, Pardon the Interruption (PTI), a "Crossfire"-type sports talk show starring two Washington Post columnists (Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon), played a large role in spreading both the story and the controversy.
Kornheiser, who now co-hosts Monday Night Football on ESPN, and who is white, saidin January of 2005, "What Limbaugh did was race baiting in its purest form. He went out there to be controversial. He knew he could be controversial about race, and he picked on this guy [McNabb]."
Wilbon, who is black, said in January 2005, "I know black and white guys root for [McNabb]. I root for Donovan McNabb and if Rush Limbaugh doesn't like it, I mean, that's tough. I root for him. I think Donovan McNabb should do what he's always done, which is ignore Rush Limbaugh."
On January 27, 2005, Limbaugh responded to these comments on his radio show:
I said [the media] 'had a social agenda.' I said you guys can't let go. By the way, you're still doing stories on black quarterbacks. We've had Doug Williams. We've had Steve McNair. Now we're going to have McNabb. You're still doing stories on how 'Isn't it wonderful black quarterbacks are getting in the Super Bowl?' I mean, you're still doing the stories, and there's no question you feel good about it. So what? That's fine and dandy. All I'm saying is, that that led you to overlook what I thought were some performance deficiencies in McNabb at that time. Of course he's better! The statistics indicate that. It doesn't even need to be substantiated that he's better [than in- and before 2003, when Rush's controversial comments were first made]."
So now that Donovan McNabb, the media’s unequivocally-declared victim of 2003, has made “racially charged” (euphemistic for racist) comments, where are the same media who attacked Limbaugh for his comments in 2003? How did the mass media, whom McNabb had just accused of being racist, react?
So far, Howard Dean hasn’t accused McNabb’s comments of being “absurd and offensive.” Wesley Clark hasn’t classified McNabb’s assessment of media scrutiny as “ignorant and hateful.” The NAACP has been uncharacteristically silent on the matter thus far. Al Sharpton has not demanded that McNabb be fired from the Philadelphia Eagles, or that fans boycott the team.
Jason Whitlock, who is black, of FOXSports.com said in a recent online column:
“Donovan Mcnabb is right, black NFL quarterbacks face more pressure, scrutiny and criticism than their white counterparts. The assertion is neither debatable nor controversial. In fact, when [HBO’s] James Brown’s sit-down interview with the star quarterback was over, I wondered how McNabb’s comments had caused so much of a stir. He’d simply stated the obvious in the most inoffensive way possible. McNabb’s comments were not angry, defiant, or whiny. They were matter of fact. They were also incomplete and, therefore, out of context.”
Were Rush Limbaugh's comments "angry, defiant, and whiny"? Remember, there was no backlash until McNabb responded to Limbaugh's Sunday comments the following Tuesday.
Popular ESPN.com blogger Matt Mosley, who is white, concluded that “…upon further review, I don't think it's really my place to beat up McNabb for his comments. We [the media, not regular fans/people] sit around and complain that players aren't candid enough, but then we immediately condemn them when they say something that might be deemed unpopular. McNabb couldn't help the timing of that interview. He didn't know he was going to stagger around the field and play poorly two nights before it aired. It's what the guy felt at the time, so I don't have a problem with it.”
So his comments were controversial only because he played poorly two nights before the interview aired? Interesting.
In fact, the most noticeable refutation of McNabb’s comments so far has come from other black NFL quarterbacks, namely Vince Young of the Tennessee Titans and Jason Campbell of the Washington Redskins.
Said Campbell:
“That's [McNabb's] opinion, and as an African-American quarterback, I have to support other African-American quarterbacks. But it's something I can't get caught up in. I look at all quarterbacks as the same. I support every guy who's playing the position. It's the hardest position to play in professional sports, and you get graded differently than any other position on the field. Nine timesout of 10 the ball is in your hands, so everybody is watching you. Since you're in the spotlight, the mistakes get recognized. You need thick skin and a short memory.”
Vince Young was more concise, having said, “That is [McNabb’s] opinion. I really feel that myself, black or white quarterbacks, we all go through something because that is the life of a quarterback.”
Kornheiser and Wilbon reacted this way on the September 20th edition of PTI:
WILBON: “I’m glad. Grateful. That Donovan Mcnabb had the guts to stand by his statement. To back it up and say, ‘Here’s what I think.’ Because these other two kids [Young and Campbell] are in their early 20s, okay? And we know what happens with youngsters of that age now, regardless of whether they play sports or not. Theyknow what happened today. And apparently, Vince Young, who also said that “this is not my fight to fight” –really now? No, it isn’t your fight to fight. Because guys like James Harris, and Marlon Brisco, and Joe Gillam, and Doug Williams, and Warren Moon—they fought the fight so that you—you self-absorbed, young punk—don’t have to fight the fight. So even if you have to say, ‘You know what, I haven’t had this treatment, but I acknowledge what came before me—I want to hear that from the young quarterbacks. And they’re great players, they’re great talents. I want to hear a fuller conversation, and thankfully, Donovan Mcnabb started it.”
KORNHEISER: “Yeah…. Operative word, young quarterbacks. Theymay not know all these things; Donovan Mcnabb, in his early 30s now, knows all these things. I agree with Donovan Mcnabb about a higher level of scrutiny, but not in all cases. . . .”
WILBON: “But here’s what I’m more concerned about: I want the young quarterbacks, because they’re the future of this league, black or white, black specifically—they have an obligation, okay, not to anyone else but the people who came before them, Tony. So I don’t want to hear Vince Young say ‘It’s not my fight to fight.’ ”
KORNHEISER: “Here’s what I suspect: That by tonight, somebody will help them with that education. And by tomorrow, they’ll be a little bit more appreciative of the people who went down that road before.”
WILBON: “Good, because that’s all, I think, that Donovan Mcnabb wants. And by the way, I’m glad there’s so much progress that they haven’t faced it. But know what came before you. That’s my real issue with this.”
Maybe I’m not old enough to understand, but where in that entire exchange did either Kornheiser or Wilbon address McNabb’s accusation that modern-day media criticize black quarterbacks more than white ones? How was he trying to pay respect to oppressed black QBs from decades past by accusing the current media of being racist?
The rationale behind this defense of McNabb’s comments is perplexing. It would be like defending a Jewish person’s accusations of mass media being anti-Semitic—mostly to honor the memory of any Jews who were unfairly treated in the past. There is no logical connection, and it is wrong to assume so much on such little evidence.
Long story short: Kornheiser, Wilbon, Mosley, Whitlock, and most other mass media so far—are McNabb apologists. There exists a double-standard here, and the media cannot bring themselves to admit it, or else they’re blind to it. I’m not suggesting Donovan McNabb is a racist, but his comments were just as racist—if not more so—than Rush Limbaugh’s comments in 2003, but with not even a speck of the same media outrage.
Let’s be clear. McNabb may not have directly called the mass media racist, but the actions he accused them of utilizing are racist in nature, and therefore the connection is implicit, but unambiguous. Yet the National Association of Black Journalists, who represents those whom McNabb charged with racism, are conveniently silent on this matter.
Rush Limbaugh’s January 2005 comments were accurate, as evidenced by the fact that just last year, the biggest story of the Super Bowl was that it was head-coached by two black men.
(In fact, somewhat ironically, both Carson Palmer and Peyton Manning have black head coaches.)
By McNabb’s rationale, white NFL running backs (Mike Alstott and...?) face the most pressure and scrutiny because there are only a few of them.
No celebrities face more scrutiny than black, conservative political figures. There needs to be more attention paid to this overt racism than to McNabb or Limbaugh. But if you are going to hold one person accountable for something, hold the other one accountable for the same--if not a worse--offense.
I lost some respect for the Eagles QB with these latest comments because he revealed himself a hypocrite. Remember, McNabb was the one who said back in 2003, “It's sad that you've got to go to skin color. I thought we were through with that whole deal.”
It’s still sad, #5.
