If you have even the smallest interest in the NFL, by now you have heard the McNabb quotes. Even if you could not care less about football but are instead interested in social issues, you have probably heard the quotes. On the off-hand chance you are in neither category or, for whatever reason, have not heard the quotes, let's start by taking a look at them:
"There are not that many African-American quarterbacks, so we have to do a little bit extra. The percentage of us playing this position, which people didn't want us to play, is low. So we do a little extra."
But he wasn't done.
Asked if white quarterbacks such as Peyton Manning and Carson Palmer are held to the same standards, McNabb replied: "Let me start by saying, I love those guys. But they don't get criticized as much as we do. They don't."
Race is always an issue in America, even when it isn't. So let's go check his statements here.
"There are not many African American quarterbacks..."
unequivocally, undeniabally true. I think there are 5 or 6 right now starting in the NFL...though the number is growing. But at the moment...yes, the percentage is very, very low. We are 100% agreed.
"...which people don't want us to play..."
Uhhh...okay. Who are these people? Could you please point to a few? I will say as a Cowboys fan when the Eagles come to town, I would just as soon have you take the game off because you are a stellar quarterback and my team has a better chance of winning with you out playing Playstation than we do if you are quarterback. However, as a FOOTBALL fan, I would rather see you play because I will see a better game than I will if your back-up, whoever that is, happens to be on the field.
I have never yet thought, "Oh, I don't want John Doe to play QUARTERBACK...why, he is color x!" To be honest, I could not tell you what color most NFL players are. Because it doesn't matter to me. I CAN tell you what color a handful are/were; Tony Dorsett, black. Barry Sanders, black. Roger Staubach, white. Drew and Preston Pearson...uh...to be honest, not sure. Dorsett has long been my favorite running back, Staubach was my favorite quarterback. But the only player I would pay money to see that particular player, past or present, is Barry Sanders because he is just...that...awesome. The only reason I know what color any of them is happens to be I have read books by or about them that had their pictures and/or seen enough of their games to actually notice and remember.
And I never thought, "Oh, so and so should not play x position because he is/isn't color x". Never even crossed my mind people might think that way.
I DO remember when Doug Williams started the Super Bowl for the Redskins against the Broncos. I remember thinking, "Oh, he is a good quarterback." Thought nothing of it. But boy, was I wrong. It was a HUGE deal...at least, for the media. Seems he was the first black quarterback to start a Super Bowl. And story after story after story after story harped on that. At some point I was amazed the guy wasn't a paraplegic, it was such a shock to them that a BLACK quarterback could actually play well enough...I mean, he was BLACK and a quarterback! Did people know that?
Of course, by that point, Williams had been in the NFL upwards of a decade and we all knew he was a good quarterback. His skills had nothing to do with whether he was white, black, yellow, green, some new shade they were just inventing, or whatever...it had to do with whether he could run a team. 52-10 says he could.
At some point the story stopped being the Redskins with a back-up quarterback against the Broncos in the Superbowl and became "There is a BLACK quarterback in the Super Bowl."
And still most of us did not care about the color of his skin. To be honest, outside of media coverage, I never heard anybody comment on it. Nor did anyone stop rooting for the Redskins and start rooting for the Broncos because of Williams. Conversely, I did not hear of anyone rooting for the Redskins instead of the Broncos because of Williams being black. News flash; outside of the media...nobody cared.
Fast forward to last year's Super Bowl. For years I have been a Dungy fan, thought he was a great coach. Until last year, never thought about him being black. Never noticed. Never cared. Not as familiar with new Bears coach Lovie Smith, but I DID notice he took an underachieving team with a horrible quaterback and got them into the Super Bowl. Of course, judging by media hype, the game was all about it being the first time a black coach was in the Super Bowl and sure enough...there were 2. I have never wished either Dungy or Smith success or failure because of the color of their skin...nor have I personally talked to anyone who does. I root for Dungy because he is a great coach and a better human being. I root for Smith because he is a great coach...and against him because I can't stand the Bears.
Not once have I thought someone should not play a position or be a coach or manager because of their color. Nor do I know a single person who ever has. Not one. And you would think I would. After all, I come from a place so indesribably racist that I am old enough to remember the first black family moving in and asking Dad what the word was people painted on their house and cars; he would not tell me because it was wrong. He did his part to make me non-racist...I did, until he died, have a black foster brother who lived with us. I remember it well because Larry got my room.
The town was very racist. And even coming from there, things have progressed so far, so fast, that not one person I know even from there who "doesn't want blacks to play quarterback".
But let's keep looking at McNabb's comments...you know the ones, blacks being held to a higher standard.
Like Vick...the guy who had several incidents such as a bottle with a "secret compartment" filled with illegal drugs that wasn't his...some comments...the lowest quarterback rating of any regular starter in the league...who was stood by, supported...and yes, heavily marketed...by everyone, right up until he was involved in a gambling, dog fighting, and cruel dog killing ring. Multiple felonies did what everything else could not. Was he held to a higher standard? He had one of the 4 highest paying contracts in the NFL, one of the worst individual performance ratings...though I would argue that is misleading. He did, after all, lead the Falcons to the Super Bowl and I don't think there is an intelligent person alive who argues the Falcons are better this year without him than they were last year with him...Harrington might have a better rating, but nobody in their right mind will argue he is a more effective, hence better, quarterback. Vick > Harrington. Actually, Vick > 90% of the quarterbacks in the league, regardless of statistical rating.
Conversely, let's look at someone at the top of the stat game...Peyton Manning. For years the guy has been setting records for yardage, touchdowns, passer rating and running an offensive juggernaut the likes of which had not been seen since The Greatest Show on Turf...or, more aptly, based on longevity, the Air Coryell teams...yet he was known as a choke artist, the guy who "couldn't win the big one"...there were talks of blowing up the team and starting from scratch...Of course, all that changed once he actually WON a Super Bowl...but until then, he was talked about as the most overrated quarterback in the league.
And his opposing number in the Super Bowl last year...has there ever been a worse Super Bowl quarterback than Rex Grossman? (I would argue yes...but not many) Or a more maligned one? MAYBE Trent Green...maybe...but I doubt it. All you hear is how nobody can win with Rex Grossman. Well, maybe...but you can win enough to be 4 quarters from being crowned Super Bowl champion.
Care to guess which ones are white and which one is black from the descriptions? You guessed it...the one that was supported no matter what...until it was a crime that got to people emotionally. How, then, is he...or are they, referring to the subset known as black quarterbacks...criticized more? Or are they just more sensitive to it?
That, believe it or not, is an argument I would buy into. Social pressures are to generate self-esteem...and stud athletes, going back to grade school, then develop a set of common attitudes. One of those is always being the best. In fact, it could be argued the best athletes HAVE to believe they are the best. But sometimes that belief comes with a false sense of entitlement...see Leaf, Ryan....which does not react well to criticism. See also Mora, Jim; Green, Denny; Piniella, Lou; and a host of other star athletes/coaches/managers who have had spectacular blow-ups when they were questioned on their performance. The Phillies reliever unleashing the torrent of f-bombs and "retard" blasts when a reporter had the temerity to ask if he had made "the right pitch" a few days ago is a classic example.
Jim Litke has some good thoughts I happen to agree with...
whereas Jason Whitlock has some I don't, such as this:
"For reasons far more nuanced than he offered Tuesday night on HBO, Donovan McNabb is right, black NFL quarterbacks face more pressure, scrutiny and criticism than their white counterparts.
The assertion is neither debatable nor controversial."
Actually, I agree with the first half...it is NOT debatable. Black quarterbacks face pressure, scrutiny, and criticism, but no more and no less than any other race of quarterbacks. There is no legitimate debate on that. However, a lot of people are so set on proving that the US is still irredeemably racist that it IS controversial. I hear over and over and over how "race IS an issue and anyone who doesn't believe it is lying to themselves." Well, if it is an issue...that is only true for people I do not personally know. Nobody I know cares one way or the other what color the skin is.
It is interesting how Whitlock retroactively turns Terrell Owens into the good guy. Full disclosure; I think Owens is a tremendously talented and entertaining player. His Sharpie td celebration was hilarious. His standing on the Star was an iconic moment. His selfishness and habit of blaming his qbs when he doesn't get the ball enough are legendary. Despite being one of the most productive receivers in football, Frisco wanted to get rid of him because of his attitude. He refused to play for the team he was traded to, forced a bad deal that benefited only the Eagles and T.O., and got a HUGE contract. Then he decided it was not enough. Yet McNabb failed to stand up for him? Check yourself, Whitlock...it was T.O. refusing to honor his contract. It was T.O. holding up the team. How was McNabb betraying T.O.? Because he thought people should play for and on their contracts?
As for the Philadelphia fans...these are the same fans that booed MVP Mike Schmidt unmercifully. You remember Mike? Apparently he was a decent player...he was the Most Valuable Player in all of baseball, a first ballot Hall of Famer, a life long Phillie...and, if memory serves...white. Oh, yeah, these are the same fans that pelted Santa Claus with batteries. And that LOVE Jimmy Rollins. Let's check his melanoma levels...yup. Not white. They ain't crying because he is black, they are crying because so far this year McNabb has played like Leaf instead of like McNabb. Know what, though? If the Cowboys could trade Tony Romo straight up for McNabb...I would jump on that deal. And if he started throwing like Drew did his last year in Dallas...yeah, I would boo too at that point...when he was throwing interceptions and not making plays. But it would be for those reasons. Just like I booed Drew, just like I booed Romo when he fumbled the snap (I should be careful...I am not actually sure what color Romo is, so maybe I should not boo him...)
Wonder how America feels?
Hmm. Maybe I am not so "out there" after all...
But let's check out one more viewpoint. Greg Doyel starts out really strong:
Black quarterbacks look the same to me. Every last one looks like a guy who should be playing running back. Or defensive back. Or receiver. They look like anything but a quarterback, which used to be an all-white position and should have stayed that way.
Right, Donovan McNabb? That's what you think I'm thinking. That's what you think lots of people are thinking. We don't like black quarterbacks -- never have, never will.
Unfortunately, he then goes south a bit. Limbaugh was nowhere near as wrong as people want to think. A lot of the backlash against his words were against "words said by Limbaugh", not against the phrase, "...the media has been very desirous that a black quarterback do well."
They have...and at the time, needed to be. Back at that point there was an appearance that people did not believe a black man could play qb. Ridiculous. That hearkens back to a lot of the eugenics movements of the early 20th century. We would like to think it went away with Germany in WWII. It didn't. But the vestiges have been removed now. You find a team that would not be ecstatic to have Dungy coaching, Vince Young at quarterback, and I will show you the Indianapolis Colts...who happen to be coached by Dungy and have a pretty good qb themselves. Nobody cares if Young is black or not...they care that he can read defenses, move in or out of the pocket, find receivers, make accurate throws, and when all else fails...find a way to win.
It was a good thing the media did, presenting large helpings of positive coverage. And yes, it was necessary. And effective. And happening. And now it isn't needed, wanted, or happening. Now instead of getting special coverage and extra protections black quarterbacks are treated as...*gasp* quarterbacks. Not black quarterbacks...just...quarterbacks. The cogs in the offensive machine. No more, no less.
McNabb is a great qb. He is right more than he is wrong. But on this subject...this time...he is dead wrong and quite regressive.
4 years ago
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