ESPN Analyst Wonders Whether RGIII is Authentically Black; Cites Republican Rumors, White Fiancé

posted at 5:56 pm on December 13, 2012 by Guy Benson

Eighty-seven seconds of ignorant racial McCarthyism, courtesy of ESPN talking head Rob Parker:

Here’s WaPo‘s summary of this clip, which is going mega-viral:

“This is an interesting topic,” Parker said. “For me, personally, just me, this throws up a red flag, what I keep hearing. And I don’t know who’s asking the questions, but we’ve heard a couple of times now of a black guy kind of distancing himself away from black people. I understand the whole story of I just want to be the best,” Parker continued. “Nobody’s out on the field saying to themselves, I want to be the best black quarterback. You’re just playing football, right? You want to be the best, you want to throw the most touchdowns and have the most yards and win the most games. Nobody is [thinking] that. But time and time we keep hearing this, so it just makes me wonder deeper about him,” Parker went on. “And I’ve talked to some people down in Washington D.C., friends of mine, who are around and at some of the press conferences, people I’ve known for a long time. But my question, which is just a straight honest question. Is he a brother, or is he a cornball brother?”

What does that mean, Parker was asked. “Well, [that] he’s black, he kind of does his thing, but he’s not really down with the cause, he’s not one of us,” Parker explained. “He’s kind of black, but he’s not really the guy you’d really want to hang out with, because he’s off to do something else.” Why is that your question, Parker was asked. “Well, because I want to find out about him,” Parker said. “I don’t know, because I keep hearing these things. We all know he has a white fiancée. There was all this talk about he’s a Republican, which, there’s no information [about that] at all. I’m just trying to dig deeper as to why he has an issue. Because we did find out with Tiger Woods, Tiger Woods was like I’ve got black skin but don’t call me black. So people got to wondering about Tiger Woods early on.” Then Skip Bayless asked Parker about RGIII’s braids. “Now that’s different,” Parker said. “To me, that’s very urban and makes you feel like…wearing braids, you’re a brother. You’re a brother if you’ve got braids on.”

On one hand, the Redskins’ star quarterback downplays his skin color in interviews, has a white fiancee, and has been dogged by whispers that he might be (gasp) a Republican. On the other hand, he has “urban” braids. So there’s that. I think the most disgusting element of this screed is Parker’s burning interest in “finding out” more about the rookie’s views, as if there’s some perverted “down-with-the-cause” racial purity test that Griffin has yet to pass. Parker hastens to mention that the Republican rumors are unfounded…for now. He might as well have added, “not that there’s anything wrong with that.” Although I suppose that would involve paying lip service to the notion that conservative political beliefs do not automatically make someone evil — a nod to tolerance of which Parker seems incapable. Also note the clip’s fascinating conclusion, wherein Stephen A. Smith (!) steps in as the voice of reason on a sports controversy involving race.

Exit Questions (Allahpundit™): Rush Limbaugh was forced out by ESPN after he offered provocative race-related commentary about Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb in 2003. (1) Will the network sever ties with Parker? (2) Should they? (3) What the hell is a “cornball brother”?

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