Nice suntan!
Can't it just die already?
I was proud of Donovan McNabb for not immediately jumping the gun with a response to Philadelphia's own fist-throwing, big-mouthed, ignorant-ass jerkoff… Bernard Hopkins. McNabb has always been a classy guy who has carried himself as a professional, but his way of words in the public eye has rarely ever helped his case.
By not responding, McNabb showed that whether the comments were justified or not, he was above the criticism. He showed that he could let it just die and go away, which would make Hopkins look even worse. The player I loved growing up (and still love) finally figured it out… and I was proud.
Then, without fail, McNabb responded via his agent, Fletcher Smith.
Before I delve any further, read his statement:
"Ill-informed statements such as the perplexing one Mr. Hopkins muttered recently are dangerous and irresponsible. It perpetuates a maliciously inaccurate stereotype that insinuates those African-Americans who have access to a wider variety of resources are somehow culturally different than their brethren.
"Donovan successfully led the Philadelphia Eagles franchise for a decade. He is the ultimate professional. On the field, he embodied confidence, hard work, assertiveness and a mutual respect for his teammates and the organization. Off the field, Donovan has been an outspoken advocate in the fight against diabetes, which has disproportionally affected the black community. He has given his time to bring awareness to this disease, which unfortunately affects 4.9 million African-Americans. Additionally, he is also involved in many other social initiatives. Donovan has always prided himself on being a leader who possesses impenetrable integrity. He will continue to exemplify the same characteristics in his future endeavors and will remain committed to serving all communities.
"Donovan's parents are proud Americans who worked hard to give their sons the best childhood they could provide. He is unapologetically proud of sacrifices they made for him. Donovan and his brother were raised to be hard-working African-American men who were taught to believe in themselves.
"It is vital that we extinguish this brand of willful ignorance and instill in the minds of African-American youth regardless of the parental makeup of your household they can become anything they wish if they work hard and make the right decisions in life.
"I wish Mr. Hopkins luck in his upcoming fight."
Look, I agree with practically everything in this statement, but it wasn't necessary! And here's why:
- Everyone already knows that the comments made by Hopkins were irresponsible. Shit, they were irrational to boot. There was no need to reiterate that point.
- By talking about how Donovan "successfully led the Philadelphia Eagles franchise for a decade" again, it's going to set off the people in this city who will bitch about not winning the Super Bowl.
- It's great that McNabb does charity work that brings awareness to diabetes, especially one that affects five million African-Americans… but no one was saying that he wasn't. What's more, that factoid isn't particularly relevant based on Hopkins' verbal assault, in my opinion.
- There is no need to defend his upbringing. Children don't have much control over how they were raised and everyone knows that. The comment feeds the irrationality displayed by people like Hopkins. Again, silence is golden here.
- I must admit I like his final point regarding African-American youth. If the whole statement was more focused on Hopkins' poor behavior and its possible effect on children who look up to African-American athletes, this statement would have been more meaningful and effective.
- He should have concluded by saying that he wouldn't let B-Hop around his kids. Nutshot.
What would really make this worse is another rebuttal from Hopkins. There is no need to let this drag out any longer. Hopkins already looks like the bitter ex-girlfriend in this situation.
You should have just let it die, Donovan.
Marcus Hayes 102 Words of Wisdom
Marcus Hayes "covered" McNabb's response yesterday in this morning's Philadelphia Daily News. "Covered" is in quotes merely because only 102 of the words in the piece are his, and his stupid and pointless remarks were merely stated hoping that McNabb's words would do all the talking for him.
Here are the two purposes that McNabb's statement served, according to Hayes:
First, it gallantly and accurately defended McNabb's unimpeachable character and considerable athletic accomplishments.
Second, given its convoluted wording and elitist tone, it proved Hopkins' point: McNabb and his brand are fully assimilated into a culture of corporate white America.
The first one is fine, I guess. Although, living in this city, that statement almost sounds sarcastic, and who the hell knows at this point?
The second point pisses me off. Let's be clear about something here. Bernard Hopkins had no point in what he said this week. His comments were misinformed, ignorant, and just plain mean. For Marcus Hayes to reintroduce race – which he did here with Chase Utley – into a discussion which started with nothing but an unprovoked and spastic case of verbal diarrhea is ridiculous.
For Hayes to think that writing that second point and following it up with just McNabb's statement might be even worse. If you make a point like that, one that is so directed and strong, you should back it up. And he didn't. He posted the text of the statement and blindly hoped that people would agree with such a stupid fucking brief assessment.
McNabb shouldn't have responded. McNabb did defend his brand, but what athlete doesn't? Why the hell can't the race card be left in the deck with this guy? Do I have to bring up Rush Limbaugh?
Marcus Hayes was ignorant on this topic, just like B-Hop. Plain and simple.
Ignorance… it's everywhere.
11 Responses
well said Ky…i mean RYAN…
I never knew McNabb spoke in the 3rd person just like The Rock…
Whatever. This needs to be said to remind people of how stupidly racist the idea that SOME black people have that it’s okay to lambast their more successful brethren. In these select people’s minds, not acting like a hood or a thug is acting “white”, whatever that means. It’s as though these select people define success inversely. It’s an awful worldview.
And what this select group feels is not usually betrayal. It’s really jealousy. And it needs to stop because it makes rational black people look like jackasses when they in fact are not.
If anything, I think that McNabb was my aggressive enough to strike at th heart of the matter.
*was NOT aggressive enough
Marcus hayes is the biggest reverse racist asshole in the world…. talking about race and Chase utley gets it easy cause he is white…. but then says that mcnabb is corporate white america…… why is it necessary to throw in the word white? corporate america works just as good… and whats with making the phrase “corporate white america” an insult, i just get a negative tone with the way that reads…. but riddle me this Marcus Hayes, with Donovan’s response, replace Donovan with Chase utley and african american with white….. then he would be up in arms calling the response racist towards blacks! Give me a break! Go Fuck yourself marcus hayes
What exactly does “corporate white America” mean?
Does he mean “professional”?
I am embarrased that I attend the same school as Marcus Hayes once did. He might be the least distinguished person to have ever of graduated from Newhouse at Syracuse (mike tirico, bob costas, etc.) and his ignorance clearly shows in his dim-witted “article.”
Oh brother (pun intended). When it comes to race relations, I consider myself to be a lucky white dude. In college, because of a small portion of American Indian blood running through my veins, I got a chance to be part of a ‘minority’ program. I was the U of D’s version of Soul man, the one white guy in a 300 person minority program that was 90% black, 10% hispanic, and me. I looked forward to it, after being bussed into city schools through my public education, I had no problem with it.
And to this day, I have more friends from that program than anybody else I met at school.
It may sound cliche, but I don’t see people of race anymore, I see people. I’ve had black roommates, hispanic roommates, white roommates, chick roommates, and I made my decisions on who they were, not what they looked like (except the chick roommates, that matters).
Maybe Hayes is trying to sell newspapers and using the stupid words of a stupid man who’s made a living of getting punched in the head?
And maybe racial hatred, which Hopkins obviously has against McNabb and all apparrent “uncle tom’s” he views as given better opportunities than he, shouldn’t be taken so lightly. Even if it’s not the norm of white vs black, jihad vs christ, cool vs nerd, smart vs dumb, and the countless other hatreds we see every day.
Happy Friday the 13th.
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
First, I agree race should be kept out of the picture. Hopkins was ignorant and wrong to criticize McNabb for ‘not being hood’ enjoy for his liking.
But, for you to say “McNabb has always been a classy guy who carries a professional…” has no merit.
First see:
There’s more:
And more:
None of these show any sign of professionalism. You would not see Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, or Joe Montana doing anything remotely close to these things. I don’t want to hear “Oh he’s just having fun…” or anything like that. He is NOT a professional, nor has he ever carried himself like one.
Just one more to prove my point:
This speech was pretty good, and something a leader of a team should do. But in true McNabb form he comes in at the end and throws a shameless plug about himself. (Not for anything, he didn’t do a damn thing during this game. The RBs ran all over the Eagles defense, and he completed 2 worthwhile passes that anyone who can throw could have completed.) He’s is a selfish, me-first person and player. People considered him a great QB over the course of a few seasons. But in my opinion watching him week-in and week-out, I tend to agree with Rush Limbaugh. I don’t consider myself a racist, but the national opinion on McNabb was unjustified and I believe that it revolved around the color of his skin which is unfortunate.
So please do not disrespect the word “professional” by calling him one, it does a great disservice to all.
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