Michael Wilbon Inflames Race War

Where the white women at

What an idiot. Michael Wilbon wrote a column that was published two days ago in the Washington Post and I can't believe what I am reading. He insists on stoking racial conflict that I believe is rapidly exiting the NFL and left Eagles Stadium a long time ago.

The background for this piece of crap is Donovan McNabb's interview with HBO wherein Dono says black quarterbacks are subjected to greater scrutiny and face a higher bar to acceptance than white quarterback equivalents. Unfortunately this interview aired the day after the Redskins beat the Eagles in the Philadelphia home opener and as such with the fans already down on Dono there has been a multiplier effect and it's all the buzz. Dono did not back down and stands by his comments.

In the first place any time you or your team is struggling and you want to talk about something other than the team's performance you invite negative coverage and so there is an infinite regression aspect to this story and the Onion can have this headline for free: Black Quarterback Unfairly Attacked Over Unfair Attacks On Black Quarterbacks.

Now here comes Wilbon and right out of the gate he has a 'friend' that prowls Eagles Stadium and hears Dono referred to as that nigger quarterback with regularity and as someone that has gone to around two dozen Eagles football games in two Eagles Stadiums that

this is complete bullshit

I have never heard that word, the n-word, nigger, at an Eagles game, ever. Has it been said there? Sure, if we pinned that map with everywhere it's ever been said we'd run out of thumbtacks but I'm here to tell you that the Eagles crowd is mostly white and not at all racist.

Randall Cunningham was black and a playoff quarterback so there's nothing new about a black QB in Philadelphia. Black men have dominated most positions in the NFL for some years now so football fans are quite comfy watching black men compete for their pleasure.

I think Wilbon's comments on how freely Eagles fans throw around the word nigger before the word Donovan are irresponsible.

But that's not all, that's just a stupid thing you can say because you've got a 'friend' you can quote and so you are protected. It's Wilbon's comments on Vince Young and the new generation of black quarterbacks (that I assume includes Jason Campbell) and how because they never were forced to change positions or to leave the country to play or not get the opportunity to play at all that Vince Young et al are somehow disrespecting the heritage and struggle of the black athlete. Wilbon:

What really annoys me is that some young black quarterbacks don't seem to have any idea of the context of the issue. Don't get me wrong, it was great to hear Tennessee's Young and the Redskins' Jason Campbell (two kids who played quarterback in the South) say they hadn't faced any particularly stinging criticism. It's yet another sign of great progress. But there also was a naivete about their comments, especially Young's, when he said the notion of black quarterbacks dealing with unfair criticism is "not my fight to fight."

I say again

this is complete bullshit

Those athletes, Warren Moon, James Harris and others, more broadly high profile black athletes, more broadly still black athletes. and still more broadly black people in general, suffered and still suffer for their rights and I understand that. Specifically they suffered through loss of opportunity in order that later generations of players would not be forced into the same fate.

I believe that if you ask Warren Moon or Doug Williams questions about this subject they will first and foremost answer as quarterbacks and then as black quarterbacks. I don't believe Warren or Doug begrudge the success and acceptance of Vince Young at all and in fact are proud that Vince is a quarterback first, a black quarterback second.

No it is not Vince Young's fight to fight anymore. He's in the NFL, a high first round pick, a rising star and respected throughout football. Somebody tell Wilbon it's ok not make everything about race.

And for the record I don't think black quarterbacks are subjected to more scrutiny. For the simple reason that the quarterback position is the most scrutinized position in sports and they all are watched closely. The fans in Philadelphia have been hard on their quarterbacks since time immemorial and Dono needs to worry about his play and not what people think of him because once you start buying the hype that you're broken down you will see knives around every corner.



Michael Wilbon and some white girls from here.