First Take, a generally awful ESPN program hosted by Skip Bayless and Stephen A. Smith, was discussing Redskins rookie QB Robert Griffin III aka RG3. RG3 is a black quarterback, so that is automatically a story for the sports media. So much so that RG3 keeps getting asked about his blackness during press conferences. Here’s how he handled the question of being a black QB in DC during his last presser:
“I am [aware] of how race is relevant to [some fans]. I don’t ignore it,” Griffin said Wednesday. “I try not to be defined by it, but I understand different perspectives and how people view different things. So I understand they’re excited their quarterback is an African American. I play with a lot of pride, a lot of character, a lot of heart. So I understand that, and I appreciate them for being fans.”
Rob Parker, moronic ESPN talking head, has “heard” that some people don’t think RG3 is “black enough”. This question worries Parker, you see, because he himself is authentically black. So he considered this an appropriate time to address this pressing issue:
This is an interesting topic. For me, personally, just me, this throws up a red flag, what I keep hearing. And I don’t know who’s asking the questions, but we’ve heard a couple of times now of a black guy kind of distancing himself away from black people. I understand the whole story of I just want to be the best. Nobody’s out on the field saying to themselves, I want to be the best black quarterback. You’re just playing football, right?
You can see where this is going.
But time and time we keep hearing this, so it just makes me wonder deeper about him. I’ve talked to some people in Washington, D.C. Some people in [Griffin’s] press conferences. Some people I’ve known for a long time. My question, which is just a straight, honest question, is … is he a ‘brother,’ or is he a cornball ‘brother?’ He’s not really … he’s black, 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 like the guy you’d want to hang out with. I just want to find out about him. I don’t know, because I keep hearing these things. He has a white fiancé, people talking about that he’s a Republican … there’s no information at all. I’m just trying to dig deeper into why he has an issue. Tiger Woods was like, ‘I have black skin, but don’t call me black.’ People wondered about Tiger Woods early on — about him.”
Ugh.
Bayless: “What do RG3’s braids say to you?”
Parker: “To me, that’s very urban … It makes you feel like … I think he would have a clean cut if he were more straight-laced or not … wearing braids is … you’re a brother. You’re a brother. If you’ve got braids on.”
This is all very bizarre, mainly because its not 1963. Or Fox & Friends.
Just to be clear, according to Rob Parker:
Rob Parker’s commentary reads like an awful forgotten sketch from last week’s SNL. Of course there are some people, somewhere, that have issue with RG3. There’s always people who have issue with black men who don’t fit some strange Civil Rights-black power era stereotype or date white women with parodied names. It is black-on-black racism, pure and simple. It’s just really unfortunate and embarrassing to see this sort of thing happen on national tv in 2012.
