or this...
or thiiiiis....
or this....
Every other year the past 7 years, a black QB has been on the cover of Madden. For comparison's sake I'll go ahead and post all the white QBs (and heck all the white players) who have been on the cover of Madden:
That about wraps them up, almost too many to handle there. You know who the only white guy ever on Madden was? That's right, this guy:
The guy it's named after. Now, I'm not going to pretend there is no racism in this country. But honestly, who has received more criticism from the media the past ten years? Ryan Leaf, Tim Couch, David Carr, Eli Manning, Brian Griese, Jake Plummer, Jake Delhomme, Drew Bledsoe, Rex Grossman, Kurt Warner, Joey Harrington, Jay Fiedler, Chad Pennington, Kyle Boller, Jeff George pre-Super Bowl Peyton Manning, and past couple seasons Brett Favre? Or Donovan McNabb, Dante Culpepper, Vince Young, pre-dog fighting Mike Vick, Steve McNair, Byron Leftwich, David Garrard, Jason Campbell, Akili Smith, or Kordell Stewart? McNabb may want to complain about the fans booing but it's fuckin Philly for Christ's sake, what's he expect? And did he miss Chad Pennington and the Jets week 1? What about how Ryan Leaf, Tim Couch, David Carr, Jeff George, Joey Harrington all being labeled busts (most cases colossal)? Steve McNair being brought in to replace Kyle Boller? Heck, the whole Leftwich drama came about because the coach and player hated each other. The media was caught completely off guard when he was cut and then all the talk was, "How has no team signed this guy yet?" Why does Donovan feel the need to say this other than to get his name in the paper? Why does Larry Johnson go say, "I respect Herm Edwards and love playing for him, I hated playing for Dick Vermeil, black players can't play for white coaches"? What is the appeal of playing the race card? If McNabb was cut tomorrow, Chicago, Miami, both New Yorks, Buffalo, Minnesota, Jacksonville, Baltimore, Kansas City, and Atlanta would all welcome him with open arms with Cleveland and Arizona also inclined. No one is looking at him saying, "Oh he's black, maybe we wouldn't want him." The only reason a team might not want him is he's coming off knee surgery (see: Culpepper, Daunte 2006). The Redskins have been ecstatic with Jason Campbell since he was drafted despite the white QBs in front of him. All anyone can say is how poised he looks despite so little experience. Mike Vick found constant support before he decided flipping off fans, and then later killing dogs, was acceptable behavior for a team leader. Culpepper's struggles last year were attributed to his injury (despite the horrendous start sans Randy Moss the year before prior to his knee injury). Steve McNair claimed Tennessee treated him the way they did because he was black. Then shortly after his release, Steve Fisher and Billy Volek had a rather public pissing match that led to Volek being traded amidst claims he was lied to about his chances at earning the starting spot. Kerry Collins was brought in a for the first couple games then Vince Young was given the reigns. Despite less than gaudy stats, Young is this year's Madden Cover Boy and McNair was/is (barring injury) Baltimore's starter (over the white Kyle Boller who has received nothing but criticism in B-more). Even the most recent QB controversy with Leftwich in Jacksonville led to him being released so that the equally black David Garrard could start. You know what all of this looks like? Typical movement of quarterbacks regardless of race.
Even the media's response to all of this does little for McNabb's case. Blogs are mixed in reaction between indifference to mild support/rejection. Compare that to what Rush Limbaugh said in 2003:
"The media has been very desirous that a black quarterback do well. There is a little hope invested in McNabb, and he got a lot of credit for the performance of this team that he didn't deserve. The defense carried this team."
They're comments are nearly identical. The only difference is McNabb says the media is tougher on black QBs and Limbaugh said the media was easier on black QBs. Limbaugh's comments caused a huge uproar that led to his resignation while McNabb hasn't dealt with any backlash other than a couple questions from reporters asking him to confirm he stands behind his statement.
You know who's looking at this the right way? Mr. Poise himself, Jason Campbell:
"As a player and as an African-American quarterback, sometimes you have to support other African-American quarterbacks in the league. At the same time, that is something I can't get caught up in. That's his opinion and some other peoples' opinions, but I look at everybody the same. I respect everybody the same, anybody who plays the quarterback position. It's the hardest position to play in professional sports. I support any guy that's in a starting position or getting playing time in the quarterback position. You get graded, you get rated differently than any other position on the field.
"For 90 percent of the game you have the ball in your hands, and everyone's watching you and all the mistakes that you make. Since you are in the spotlight, everything gets noticed. It's a tough position to play, but at the same time you have to have a short memory. I don't look at it as a color issue; I look at it as all of us in a brotherhood together."
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