Donovan Speaks

[PhillyFan]

I'd like to add, this Mondesire farg makes me ill.

Oh, and this is now ESPN.com's FRONT PAGE story. 

i'm sure it's all going according to plan for Mondesire, nobody had ever heard of him until he wrote this article.  i'm sure he figured the best way to get his name out there is to attack a prominent sports figure and use race, that's a recipe for national headlines.

Exactly.  And ESPN, the Philly papers, and other media fell right for it.

[RezRob]

I guess Leftwich is really a uncle Tom from the word go huh?

CAREER RUSHING STATS
Year  Team G  Rush Yds  Avg  Lg TD
2003  JAC  15   25   108  4.3  18 2
2004  JAC  14   39   148  3.8  17 2
2005  JAC  11   31    67   2.2   9  2
Totals: 40 95 323 3.4 18 6

[ice grillin you]

the Madden curse struck in full out force this year...probably the worst curse of all time

[JTrotter Fan]

McNabb's obviously not black enough because he was brought up in a good home with both parents...he's well spoken and stays out of trouble with the law. Oh, and because he doesn't run enough anymore.

I'd like to add, this Mondesire farg makes me ill.

Oh, and this is now ESPN.com's FRONT PAGE story. 

I have to wonder, even though we see the "this doesn't phase me" side of McNabb in the media, how much of a toll this takes on him mentally?  I mean, if it were me, i'd be sitting at home thinking, why me?  What did i do to deserve this?  It has to effect him in some way.  And honestly, i wouldn't blame him for saying "i don't need this shtein, i'm done."  I gotta feel bad for McNabb.  Everyone wants to take shots at him and he's been nothing but GREAT for this franchise.

[Phanatic]

Well Alan Grant has a good take on this crap whoever the farg he is...

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=grant/051215

By Alan Grant
Special to Page 2


I only come here when it looks bleak. And this could very well be the knell signaling the apocalypse.

Doc: Now, relax. You're overstating things.

Well, maybe. But just barely. See, people like me do our best to pick our spots on issues concerning race. If we don't, we'll all be doomed to a cartoonish existence. And this J. Whyatt Mondeshire has set us back more than gunplay at a music awards show.

Doc: So there's no merit to his statement that McNabb choked?

McNabb didn't play any worse than Kurt Warner or Jake Delhomme in their Super Bowl games. But his team, just like their teams, lost the game.

Doc: But doesn't he have a point by saying that McNabb played the "race card" when he said he doesn't scramble anymore because it hurts his credibility as a quarterback?

First of all, anyone who uses the phrase "race card" without a trace of irony is treading on moronic ice. I mean, what does that mean anyway? Racial tension is very real and should be treated with the appropriate sensitivity. When you have a country populated by literally hundreds of races and cultures, racial tension is interwoven into the very fabric of that nation. There is no "card" to be pulled out like a Joker. It's always in play.

And second, this Mondeshire ... well, he should actually, I don't know, watch a football game. Listen, Doc, you and I both know I'm a bit of snob when it comes to random folks spouting half-baked ideas about the game I love. But this guy obviously doesn't watch football. If he did he would know that it's more a matter of style. It's a pragmatic issue. Look at Michael Vick. You know he's my favorite football player. I love to see him run. But when he runs he risks injury. I'd like him to stay in the pocket longer because I want him to play longer. That's all. It's not as exciting, but he'll be around longer.

Doc: But McNabb claimed that he was going against "expectations" by not running. Perhaps this Mondeshire is upset that McNabb spoke for all black quarterbacks.

Yeah, just like Mondeshire ... man, who the hell is this cat again? And why the hell am I sitting here talking about some pompous dork who if you handed him a jockstrap probably couldn't even put it on.

Doc: Focus, focus.

Sorry. But this Mondeshire spoke for all black folks who don't know crap about football. Anyway, it's too late in the game for there to be one "race man." Jesse Jackson is no longer relevant and needs to stay away from the Eagles' camp altogether. In fact, someone should place him under house arrest. You know what everyone seems to be blind to?

Doc: What's that?

No one sees that black folks are too socially fragmented and professionally diverse to have one person effectively address the needs, concerns, and desires of an entire people. Maybe that flew 50 years ago, but not now. And how can we take seriously an organization that still contains the word "colored?" See, that just confuses white people. And that's the real issue here.

Doc: How does this have anything to do with white people?

See, whenever some fool like Mondeshire speaks for us, and from a "colored" platform, white folks don't know what to believe. And even though they don't admit it, they look to us for direction on such things. Conservative white folks -- the Bill O'Reilly types, the thinly veiled hateful types -- jump on this sort of divisiveness like hyenas on a fallen zebra carcass. You know the old divide-and-conquer is the oldest formula for defeating a people. And Mondeshire served it up on a platter.

Doc: And the white liberals?

Well, that's tougher. See, the liberals are more prone to be swayed by the reckless athletic types. They find the athletic characteristics very exotic and exciting. I think they embrace the black man who lives on the fringe, but they fail to realize that some of us have the requisite skills to make a living in more "traditional" ways. That includes black quarterbacks.

Doc: Like Steve McNair?

Exactly, Doc. You're coming along, man.

Doc: I try.

Steve McNair is a perfect example. Because like Vick, like McNabb, he ran like a deer his first few years. But as of late, age, injuries and such have made him more of a pocket passer. But you know what?

Doc: What's that?

He's still black.

Doc: Was that ever in question?

Unfortunately, it's always in question. And not by white people, either. It's these ignorant pseudo-intellectual punks like this Mondeshire cat who expend more energy attacking black people than they do affecting meaningful change. He works for an organization and a group of people who are, for all intents and purposes, dinosaurs.

Doc: And dinosaurs are extinct, right?

Yep, extinct.

Alan Grant is a regular contributor to ESPN.com and ESPN The Magazine. He is a former NFL defensive back who played college football at Stanford.

[Wingspan]

Maybe my memory isnt serving me well, but how many of these issues has McNabb had to deal with compared to some other black QB's....  Warren Moon, Randall, Rodney Peete,  Culpepper, Vick, Brooks, McNair,  Leftwich etc.

rodney peete was either not black, or not a QB...i havent decided which.

[ice grillin you]

if rodney peete is black then im kunta kinte

[JTrotter Fan]

if rodney peete was black then im kunta kinte

Are you Levar Burton as Kunta Kinte or Dave Chappelle as Kunta Kinte?  Well?

[Rome]

if rodney peete is black then im kunta kinte

You're more like Kizzie...

[mussa]

I think McNabb is the type of guy to take this as fuel in the tank.  He's got more to prove next year than hes ever had.

[ice grillin you]

Are you Levar Burton as Kunta Kinte or Dave Chappelle as Kunta Kinte?  Well?

im levar burton as levar burton at farm aid in 86 introducing george strait

[PhillyGirl]

NAACP president outraged by McNabb column
ESPN.com news services

The national president of the NAACP said Thursday that he was outraged by comments in a column about Donovan McNabb written by the Philadelphia chapter president.

NAACP president and CEO Bruce S. Gordon responded to the controversy caused by J. Whyatt Mondesire in his Nov. 27 column for the Philadelphia Sunday Sun. Mondesire, who owns the paper, criticized the Philadelphia Eagles quarterback's leadership skills and said he "played the race card" in explaining why he no longer runs the ball.

"Whatever possessed Mondesire to take such a negative position on a positive person like McNabb is beyond me," Gordon said. "The NAACP has many civil rights issues that require our attention. Criticizing Donovan McNabb is not one of them."

Mondesire said that his column critical of McNabb was based on his opinions alone and did not necessarily reflect the position of either the local Philadelphia NAACP or that of the national organization.

Earlier in the week, McNabb responded sharply to the column, which called him "mediocre at best."

"If you talk about my play, that's one thing," McNabb told the Philadelphia Inquirer. "When you talk about my race, now we've got problems. If you're trying to make a name off my name, again, I hope your closet is clean because something is going to come out about you ... I always thought the NAACP supported African Americans and didn't talk bad about them. Now you learn a little bit more."

Gordon will try to repair some of the damage.

"In light of Mondesire's criticism it has become a personal priority of mine to set the record straight," Gordon said. "I intend to reach out to Mr. McNabb personally to offer my apology as well as my support."

McNabb's season ended last month when he decided to have surgery for a sports hernia. It's been a miserable year for the five-time Pro Bowl selection, starting with his feud with now-banished wideout Terrell Owens.

   

[shorebird]

"Whatever possessed Mondesire to take such a negative position on a positive person like McNabb is beyond me," Gordon said. "The NAACP has many civil rights issues that require our attention. Criticizing Donovan McNabb is not one of them."

"In light of Mondesire's criticism it has become a personal priority of mine to set the record straight," Gordon said. "I intend to reach out to Mr. McNabb personally to offer my apology as well as my support."

Thats great to hear. McNabb should be someone for the NAACP to be proud of.

[Sgt PSN]

I can't believe that a brutha named Whyatt would ever have the audacity to criticize someone's "blackness". 

[General_Failure]

My doctor told me my blackness is a little high after my last blood test.  I asked him if it was because I have a deep fryer now, and he punched me in the face. I probably deserved it.