I have no use for any one (black or white) who obsesses over whether someone is “authentically black”.
by Michael David Smith
Several hours after an ESPN commentator questioned whether Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III is authentically black, ESPN said those comments were out of line.
In a statement released by an ESPN spokesman, the network said, “The comments were inappropriate and we are evaluating our next steps.”
It will be interesting to see what those “next steps” are, and whether they lead to the commentator who made the comments, Rob Parker, to lose his job. When another ESPN commentator, Rush Limbaugh, made racially charged comments about another quarterback, Donovan McNabb, that ended up being the last day that Limbaugh appeared on ESPN’s NFL pregame show.
In Parker’s case, the comments would seem to be even further outside the bounds of what’s acceptable than Limbaugh’s claim that McNabb was overrated because the media wanted to promote a black quarterback. Parker went so far as to say that being engaged to a white woman somehow made Griffin “not really” black. That’s way, way outside the bounds of what’s generally considered an acceptable part of the discourse.
However, ESPN also has to shoulder plenty of the blame for Parker’s comments: The show Parker was appearing on, ESPN First Take, is specifically designed to provoke, and the comments from the show’s panelists, when they don’t flagrantly cross the line, frequently tiptoe right up next to the line. It’s also telling that ESPN later aired Parker’s comments on its Best of First Take afternoon show, suggesting that those are exactly the kinds of provocative comments that ESPN wants on First Take.
Furthermore, Parker’s comments didn’t just surface suddenly during a discussion of Griffin and the Redskins. They were part of a broader segment that began with quotes Griffin gave to USA Today about not wanting to be defined as an African-American quarterback. The producers on First Take surely knew the basic thrust of what Parker was going to say. And they surely knew he was going to say something controversial. And they surely liked that, because First Take is a show designed to draw ratings by stirring controversy.
ESPN suspends Rob Parker
ESPN has suspended commentator Rob Parker for comments he made regarding Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III.
ESPN spokesman Josh Krulewitz said: “Following yesterday’s comments, Rob Parker has been suspended until further notice. We are conducting a full review.” Parker, appearing on ESPN’s “First Take” on Thursday, was asked about Griffin’s role as a black quarterback. Parker questioned Griffin’s “blackness.” “Is he a brother or a cornball brother?” said Parker, who is black. Later, he said he wanted to find out more about Griffin and how he deals with black teammates and others in Washington. “We all know he has a white fiancée,” he said. “There was all this talk about he’s a Republican, which, there’s no information [about that] at all. I’m just trying to dig deeper as to why he has an issue. Because we did find out with Tiger Woods, Tiger Woods was like, I’ve got black skin, but don’t call me black. So people got to wondering about Tiger Woods early on.” Robert Griffin II, the quarterback’s father, told USA Today Sports Thursday night : “I wouldn’t say it’s racism. I would just say some people put things out there about people so they can stir things up.” DeMaurice Smith, executive director of the NFL Players Association, told The Washington Post in an email Friday: “Robert can certainly take care of himself. Nonetheless, I hope that our men and for that matter, my own kids, will never beg for authenticity from someone who can only talk about the things that other people have the courage to do. People need to be held accountable for the offensive things that they say
This type of thinking is just evil.
Skip Bayless who is on the same show is just as big a jerk.
I don’t watch sports so unfortunately these names don’t resonate with me. From what I’ve read of this affair however, the network that hired and fired Olbermann obviously hasn’t raised their intellectual bar for on-air talent.
http://reason.com/blog/2012/12/13/the-gop-committee-purge-not-about-policy
GOP elites go Alinsky. On our own.
“>25 examples of what America would be like if every one were a liberal
@ Mars:
look who is calling out the GOP elites. My man Rand Paul!
Rodan wrote:
Yeah but Paul and Ryan have had a personal war going for some time. Ryan may be complicit, but the main villain is Boehner.
@ Mars:
No question. Rand calls out Boehner as well.
@ Mars:
They should do a Libertarian-Conservative variant of that one. There are some differences between the 2 main factions of the Right. I’m sure the economic areas would be the same, but there would some differences in the social sphere.
http://tinyurl.com/c5rw6t2
Actually there are many things on that list I don’t want to see.
(Why are so many conservatives ignorant of the true reason behind the pledge of allegiance?)
Several sources.
The pledge was a way of cementing a childs dedication and loyalty to the federal government, not the country as a principle.
Rodan wrote:
Very much so.
@ Mars:
Wow, so i is National Socialist in origins? I never knew that.
@ Mars:
It is Jacobin in its roots. This is shocking stuff.
Rodan wrote:
Most of the conservative movement has no idea. They’ve had it beaten into their head for so long that they just automatically think it is a great thing.
They also fight for “under god” which wasn’t even in the pledge till many years later because of a campaign by the Knights of Columbus.
FDR by the way, loved the pledge, he considered it a valuable loyalty oath.
Note the name John Dewey.
@ Mars:
Sounds like Rick Santorum or Mike Huckabee.
@ Mars:
I have been warning Conservatives that there is a Progressive infiltration on the Right. Just because someone claims they are for God and Country dos not mean they are Conservative.
This is good stuff your digging up.
FDR also had nothing to do with the ending of the Bellamy Salute (aka Nazi salute) in this country. It is a common myth that recently took on new life with uninformed (or intentionally manipulative) wikipedia contributors.
Rodan wrote:
Did you ever get your hand on the book I recommended to you?
Rodan wrote:
As bad as they are, the true christian socialists were and are a thousand times worse.
@ Mars:
Can you remind me? I recall you mentioned it.
Rodan wrote:
http://www.amazon.com/Conservative-History-American-Left/dp/0307339467
Take a look at the bottom of the last thread. There was an interesting discussion. I think you’ll enjoy one of my points.
http://www.ethansabo.com/post/15111024777
Check out the first pic on this site. Epic.
http://floppingaces.net/2012/03/07/democrats-falsely-claim-conservatives-are-racists-lets-pretend-its-true-so-what-reader-post/
@ Mars:
Got it and I will order ir.
Night all!
Rodan wrote:
Night.
You won’t regret it.
I like white people, and I have a personal stake in this since I am mostly white, and I don’t like it when white people are victims of hate crimes.
But just because I like white people doesn’t mean I am going to make a fuss if “one of us” goes and intermarries. I only request that the offspring is brought up not to end up like Janjak Desalin, who hated one whole half of himself and made a ruin of his nation in the process.
It appears that with RGIII that he has no intention of raising his kids to hate whites or blacks.
Why exactly does Parker have a problem with this? Wasn’t that part of “the struggle”?
If Rob Parker needs to find somebody “inauthentically black” to rag on, he need look no farther than the White House. I mean, really, what does Barack Obama have in common with the typical black American other than the optical properties of his hide?
By the way, greetings from Nicaragua. Just came from eating an awesome seafood dinner at a restaurant near my hotel, and Daniel Ortega came on the TV. Funny, the sound went off about 2 paragraphs into his oration.
Rob Parker reminds me of the black youths in school who tormented other black youths for excelling in their grades and thereby acting white.
@ Zimriel:
I’vm finding out that the guy I room with is a racist. Especially with Обама. I call him a Filthy Communist Bastard. He calls him the Head [N-Word]. Frankly it’s quite disgusting.
As soon as all my legal actions are completed. I’ll be fixing to move out.
What is educating people to think this way? A congressman, now a judge. It has to be a curriculum somewhere, but I have never come across it.
Some people think huckabee defends this.
why Romney lost the election…
Romney said, “When I’m elected, I will put Americans back to work,” and 51% said, “Screw That!!”
Last full day in the office for 2012. I will go in for a half-day tomorrow, but that’s it.
Doing the “Happy Dance” here…
I think Rob Parker has been fired and/or resigned from every broadcast position he’s had due to his bullshit commentary.
He’s been on and off of most every metro Detroit TV sports and radio station, if I recall.
So, RGIII, to his enormous credit, chooses to be judged “on the content of his character rather than the color of his skin” and he’s considered “inauthentic” by this this talentless hack, Rob Parker?
So, who are the “authentic” blacks, the gangbangers, the wife beaters and misogynists, the crack-addled, the 13 year-old armed robbers and murderers?
RGIII is a huge bright spot in an increasingly troubled “black community” (oh, how I hate that term) and Parker and his ilk ar to vested in their own racism to recognize the value of RGIII, not only to blacks, but to everyone. Too bad our President didnt choose not to be be defined by his race.
Brick wrote:
They sure haven’t.
MacDuff wrote:
What a radical concept!
Speranza wrote:
Yeah. The only remnant of MLK left in the “black community” seems to be the holiday.
@ Speranza:
It is a radical concept. It would seem that the majority of th eblack community would rather be judged by the color of their skin than the content of their character. Thus we see opposition to Obama policies characterized as RAAAAACISM.
MacDuff wrote:
There has beeen a dramatics drop off from MLK, Whitney Young, Bayard Rustin, Ralph David Abernathy, Roy Wilkins to Jesse Jackson Al Sharpton, Barack Obama.
Iron Fist wrote:
And the loyalty to a black president where the unemployment rate amongst Blacks has dramatically risen.
@ Speranza:
Yep, because Obama’s “down with the struggle”. That was what that high-dollar prep school prepped him for. What kills me is that they try to sell (successfully, it seems) that Obama came from poverty. He was raised by his grandmother, who was a bank vice-president. He went to the most elite private school in Hawaii. IF that is poverty, I grew up somewhere far below the poverty line.
Speranza wrote:
It’s just another example, in a long line of examples, of self-destructive behavior among blacks. If I were black, I’d be furious.
MacDuff wrote:
It really is a conundrum for the blacks. They rose so quickly into middle class status when Reagan was president.
Iron Fist wrote:
Yeah the poor guy grew up in Hawaii.
Iron Fist wrote:
Many blacks find a perverse solace in the “po black” stereotype. I wish I had a dollar for every black woman I’ve seen wearing an “Aunt Jemima” scarf on her head -- WTF? The problems are deep and pervasive and people like Parker…and Obama do nothing but feed the problem.
@ Speranza:
It’s hard out there for a
pimpchoomer…I’m a little late to the party on this this, but I can’t let the customary smear against Rush Limbaugh go unchallenged:
Rush pointed out, correctly, that the media was invested in having a black quarterback do well, and that as an example, they covered for McNabb while at the same time excoriating the performance of Matt Garcia of the 49ers, who was have a similar season and putting up similar numbers. Rush never said a word against McNabb. In fact, Michael Irvin completely agreed with Rush until the libturd cabal at ESPN told him to do a 180.