Black QBs

Donovan McNabb, quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles, recently said that Black quarterbacks face more scrutiny than White quarterbacks. He then was unable to codify his statements, point to specific examples of when, how, or in what way he came to this belief, and when presented with codified comments to the contrary, stormed away from the interview in a huff.

McNabb is an idiot. While I don't doubt there is a small portion of this country that still holds onto such racist beliefs, the majority of all sports reporting is based on what the player has actually done and not some perception. He seems to be discounting that the most vilified QB over the last few seasons is Chicago's Rex Grossman. Eli Manning cannot escape the shadow of his father or his brother, and the press has been branding him as a failure for two seasons now.

I find it interesting that McNabb is having one of his worst seasons in his career when you look strictly at his wins/losses, completion percentages, yards per pass, and other critical QB statistics, yet he feels it is somehow racially motivated when reporters bring that up. No, Donovan, it is because your PLAY is stinking to high heaven. What is funny, to me, is that he has a built-in excuse for his poor play, the knee surgery that not everyone comes back from, yet he chooses to play the race card instead. Gee, McNabb, don't you think it more likely that the reason you keep under throwing your receivers is because your knee isn't fully healthy and you don't have all your strength than the fact that you are black?

There are seven black QBs starting in the NFL right now. Of those, only McNabb is having a truly atrocious season and he is the only one about whom reporters are being overly negative. Coincidence? I think not. After week one, Tavaris Jackson was getting a lot of praise. After week two's relatively poor performance, a few reporters got on the kid a bit for his poor play... I didn't hear him claim his race was the motive behind those comments. Matter of fact, he admitted he played poorly and was not on his A game. Instead of pulling the tired cliche of race to excuse his poor play, he said he would do better, talk with his coaches, and come out stronger next week. He seems to understand that his play is the reason for the comments, not his skin. You are nearly 10 years older, Donovan, why can't you figure that out?

Jason Campbell in Washington has had a heaping of praise in the press for the way he has handled the offense, the pressures of being a young starting quarterback, and for being 2-0 on the season. I have not been able to find anything negative on his performance, but he also has been playing well. If the media were racially motivated, wouldn't they be trying to tear down this successful black QB too?

Vince Young last season had some good games and some horrible games... and reporters only had negative things to say about those poor games and the trends they saw in his play during those poor games. He didn't make any comments that were racially motivated.

If you go on to have a couple of great games in a row, you'll be amazed that the "negative" press will fade away, Donovan. Because, just like most of America, reporters are primarily concerned with how you play and if you win, not what color your skin is.

You have claimed for years that you are all about class and dignity, yet whenever the chips are down and things aren't going your way, you whine like a school girl and cannot accept responsibility for your poor actions. This does not strike me as classy or dignified in the least.

Rex Grossman continues to be under a microscope for his inconsistent play. Eli Manning continues to take the lion's share of the blame for the poor performance of the offense in New York. People are questioning Drew Brees and Philip Rivers over their poor decision making and play over the first two games. I am not hearing any one of those QBs complaining that white QBs are under more scrutiny than black QBs. Each of them is sucking it up and trying to play better, smarter, and harder to be successful.

Why is Donovan McNabb getting a relative flier on his asinine, racially motivated comments? This is the third time in his career that I remember McNabb blaming things on race when his poor play was the real culprit. I can only conclude that the real racist in the equation is McNabb.