ESPN Suspends Rob Parker Indefinitely Over Cornball Brother Comments
Should he be fired? This was not the first "from out of left field" comments made by Parker. [see below]
FROM ESPN.com ESPN has suspended commentator Rob Parker for comments he made regarding Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III.
ESPN spokesman Josh Krulewitz said: "Following yesterday's comments, Rob Parker has been suspended until further notice. We are conducting a full review."
Parker, appearing on ESPN's "First Take" on Thursday, was asked about Griffin's role as a black quarterback. Parker questioned Griffin's "blackness."
"Is he a brother or a cornball brother?" said Parker.
Later, he said he wanted to find out more about Griffin and how he deals with black teammates and others in Washington.
"We all know he has a white fiancée," he said. "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 w
e 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."
Robert Griffin II, the quarterback's father, told USA Today Sports Thursday night : "I wouldn't say it's racism. I would just say some people put things out there about people so they can stir things up."
DeMaurice Smith, executive director of the NFL Players Association, told The Washington Post in an email Friday: "Robert can certainly take care of himself. Nonetheless, I hope that our men and for that matter, my own kids, will never beg for authenticity from someone who can only talk about the things that other people have the courage to do. People need to be held accountable for the offensive things that they say."
Rob Parker resigned as a sports columnist for the Detroit News after the criticism that followed asking losing Detroit Lions coach Rod Marinelli at a postgame news conference whether he wished his daughter had married "a better defensive coordinator", who was Marinelli's son-in-law. The Lions had finished 0-16 in the 2008 football season.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Add your comments to this post. You may comment anonymously.
Comments with links to other websites and with inappropriate language will not be published.
Please share this story on your social media pages. Thank you.
Click on Enter Comment to begin.