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RG3’s Biggest Race

Recently on ESPN’s First Take, columnist Rob Parker posed a question about Robert Griffin III and whether he’s black or just “cornball black” whatever that means. Apparently, RG3 has a white fiancé, and has been rumored to be a republican. Parker asked if Griffin is “down for the cause” or if hes “one of us” as if Parker is out there holding rallies and giving out scholarships for urban youth.

My question is- why does any of this matter? Why is RG3’s blackness even up for debate? His job is to be an NFL quarterback and in his rookie year, he’s the only reason his Redskins are above .500 and are still in position to make the playoffs. Parker’s comparison to Tiger Woods is ludicrous. Tiger did come out and say that he doesn’t want to be considered black. But Tiger Woods isn’t just black. Tiger is multi-racial. For Tiger to allow people to only perceive him as a black golfer (because they would) he would be denying his Asian background. Shouldn’t we be praising him for accepting both sides of his culture rather than chastising him for not being black enough?

As if all this wasn’t enough, Skip Bayless brought up RG3’s braids as a symbol of his blackness. Any self respecting black man would’ve slapped the taste out of Skip’s mouth but Parker not only accepted it but he went along and added to the theory by saying, “it’s very urban” and “wearing braids is…you’re a brother.”

As a black man, I choose not to wear braids. Does that make me any less black than a black man that does? Am I not a brother because I have a short haircut? Perhaps Rob Parker wouldn’t consider me a brother because I enunciate or because my father was and still is a part of my life.

Kudos to Stephen A Smith for trying to put a halt to such a ridiculous conversation. Who RG3 dates, votes for or emulates is none of our business. He isn’t a detriment to his team, the league or his community. Since he burst onto the scene at Baylor, he’s been nothing short of tremendous as a player and a person. He’s continuously proven people wrong. From being recruited to play defensive back at Texas, to leading the Redskins to a 7-6 record this far. What else is he supposed to do other than his job?

ESPN’s First Take has a history of trying to push the envelope and stir the pot but in this scenario, all they’ve done is lower the bar. This is the kind of nonsense I’d expect to see on FoxNews. Being a columnist doesn’t mean you can pull these asinine ideas from thin air and discuss them. Being a columnist doesn’t mean you can blatantly make things up about athletes without doing any extensive research. Rob Parker should know better. As a black man, he’s doing too much to hold back RG3 and not enough to praise his efforts. Rob Parker complained that RG3 isn’t down for the cause. Last time I checked, throwing a fellow black man under the bus wasn’t part of the cause.

Ed is a graduate of SUNY College At Old Westbury. He is currently the New York Knicks Beat Writer for Hoops Habit. Ed also works for MLB Advanced Media and CBS Radio's "1010 WINS" in New York City. He is the founder of Keeping It Real Sports LLC

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