by Jim Bearor
This past Thursday on First Take, Rob Parker put his foot so far in his mouth that he’s going to be taking some time off of work. Parker never really wowed me with his insight or analysis to begin with, but then again, those aren’t two elements that I look for when I watch the show. Usually when I tune in, I anticipate a few talking heads calling each other names and carrying out farfetched arguments over a number of moot points for a couple hours. The show gets incredibly heated, and that’s probably the only reason it is still on television. But during an intense discussion of Robert Griffin III and how he carries himself, Parker went a bit too far when voicing his opinion and earned himself an indefinite suspension from ESPN.
Parker opened his little rant by asking if Griffin is a “real brother” or a “cornball brother”, which is not a good way to start an argument that is supposed to be professional. He then went on to say: “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 like the guy you really want to hang out with.”
You may want to read through that a couple times, I know it made me laugh even harder the second go-around. After you get your laughs, try to think of why Parker would even consider saying something of that nature while working for ESPN. I pondered that for a while, and came up with nothing. Who knows, maybe he just got so fired up about the topic that he said something that he didn’t really mean, but more than likely this was just another example of Parker revealing his inner knucklehead on national television – but this time he brought it to another level.
You probably have heard opinions like this before, and they probably make you shake your head. They should make you shake your head. The idea that RGIII isn’t really black in some people’s eyes because he doesn’t act or talk a certain way is ridiculous and irrelevant. People like Parker are just reinforcing stereotypes that African Americans have been fighting against for so long.
Is RGIII a “cornball brother” because he is articulate and dresses nicely? If so, then what’s the alternative, acting like Terrell Owens or Allen Iverson? Sorry for bursting your bubble Rob Parker, but that’s not who RGIII is.
I was listening to Dan Lebatard the other day, and he brought up a good point. There are plenty of other successful black athletes that pride themselves on being professional, something that Parker is not familiar with. A few names that came to mind right away were Tiki Barber, Tiger Woods, and Marcellus Wiley. All of them have experienced their fair share of success in sports, and managed to do so while also being role models.
Another interesting part about Parker’s little ramble was right near the end where he said that “[RGIII] is not like the guy you really want to hang out with.” This is a bit confusing to me, was RGIII not endorsed by several large corporations even before he stepped on an NFL field? John Gruden seemed like he had a good time talking with him during his quarterback camp (but I guess Gruden is always excited, so never mind), and all you hear from his teammates is how great of a guy he is and what kind of leadership he brings to the team.
But regardless of what everyone else says, Rob Parker is probably going to continue to think the way he does. If he is going to speak for a small, uneducated group of people and disown RGIII because he sounds a little like Wayne Brady when he talks, then let him be. I’m just glad that we don’t have to deal with that sort of nonsense when we turn on ESPN, at least for a while.
