We are our own worst enemy when it comes to race. Once someone has a gripe, they’ll find a way to wedge that race card into the deck.
If you haven’t heard, sports writer and commentator Rob Parker, who appears on ESPN’s First Take from time to time, discussed yesterday morning whether or not Washington Washington Football Team sensational rookie quarterback Robert Griffin III was a “brother or a cornball brother?”
Here’s what Parker had to say about RG3:
“I want to find about him. I don’t know because I keep hearing these things. We all know he has a white fiancé. Then there was all this talk about him being a Republican, which there’s no information at all. I’m just trying to dig deeper into why he has an issue.”
Now I don’t know whether or not Parker made this statement for the shock value, or if he truly believes this.
I’m leaning towards the latter. I always believe that once something comes out your mouth, that’s what you believe no matter how much you apologize, rephrase or retract; it’s out there.
But isn’t this the same argument that swirled in 2008 when President Obama was running for the oval office. Was he black enough? That was the $4 million question.
They wanted Flavor Flav and got Steve Urkel (no offense Mr. President.)
But back to Parker, what’s in it for Parker to think so much about the blackness of RG3, why is his mind even going there? It’s a waste of a thought.
RG3 hasn’t shied away from the race issues either, he’s aware that he’s a black quarterback. Here’s what RG3 said about race when asked about being the black quarterback in D.C. with sports talk radio host Chick Hernandez:
“Whenever you can relate to the population of the team that you play for, I think it makes it that much more special. I don’t play too much into the color game, because I don’t want to be the best African American quarterback, I want to be the best quarterback.”
If he starts thinking about being the best black QB, his career will be over very soon.
“Well, [that] he’s black, he kind of does his thing, but he’s not really down with the cause, he’s not one of us…He’s kind of black, but he’s not really the guy you’d really want to hang out with, because he’s off to do something else,” claims Parks.
He’s probably studying his playbook. What should he be doing Mr. Parker, holding dog fighting matches in his house, throwing stripper parties on yachts, making cameos in Chief Keef videos?
Seems like RG3 is being a professional.
Parker tried his best to clarify his comments:
“I didn’t mean it like that…We could sit here and be honest, or we can be dishonest. And you can’t tell me that people in the barbershops or people that talk, they look at who your spouse is. They do. And they look at how you present yourself. People will say all the time, you’re not gonna get a job in corporate America wearing those braids. It happens all the time. Let’s not act like it doesn’t, because it does.”
RG3 isn’t running for office, he’s not on the campaign trail making speeches, he doesn’t have to disclose his taxes and no one cares about his opinion on the fiscal cliff. He’s a football player!
RG3 is a really good quarterback who’s going to turn into a great one, he’s fast as lightening and can throw the ball really far and everything is else is irrelevant. The race of his girlfriend, his political affiliation or how he rocks his braids is none of our business unless he makes it an issue. Parker’s problem is that he’s upset that RG3 isn’t fitting into that mold of the controversial black athlete we’ve come accustomed to over the last 15 years: the guys who made headlines off the field involved in shootouts and making it rain.
Parker’s angry that RG3 hasn’t been caught in a strip club yet making it rain with rappers. That’s not who he is, and you know what, that’s a good thing.
