ESPN Announcer Says White Redskins Fans Will Support White QB over Black one

[LynneSin]

Skip Bayless Says White Redskins Fans Will Support Kirk Cousins Over Robert Griffin III

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/20/skip-bayless-kirk-cousins-rg3-white-redskins-fans_n_1813047.html

n what seemed an attempt to hype up a nascent, and perhaps nonexistent, quarterback controversy on the Washington Redskins, Skip Bayless of ESPN made himself the story during an episode of "First Take" on Monday morning. Perhaps best known for lauding Tim Tebow and tearing down LeBron James, Bayless contended that it is human nature for white fans to support a white athlete over a black athlete if given a choice.

"I'm going to throw it out there. You also have the black-white dynamic and the majority of Redskins fans are white. And it’s just human nature, if you’re white to root for the white guy," Bayless contended. "It just happens in sports. Just like the black community will root for the black quarterback. I'm for the black guy. I'm just saying, I don't like the dynamic for RG3. It could stunt his growth in the NFL."

Bayless made this claim about human nature to bolster his argument that Robert Griffin III, the reigning Heisman Trophy winner and the No. 2 overall selection in the 2012 NFL Draft, is in a precarious position in Washington due to the presence of fellow rookie QB Kirk Cousins, a fourth-round pick out of Michigan State. While attempting to make the case (which he has been doing for months) that the Redskins erred in drafting Cousins, who is white, because it puts unnecessary pressure on Griffin III, who is black, to flourish quickly, Bayless cited race as factor in determining fan opinion. This discussion came two days after Griffin delivered a lackluster effort in a preseason game against the Chicago Bears.

Really?

If Redskins are anything like all the other fans in the NFL they will cheer on the players that will win the games and bring home the Super Bowl Trophy.

[KG]

1. skip bayless is the kind of guy that only has a TV job coz there's 400 channels to fill up.

[reflection]

2. Skip Bayless, human detritus

He's the TMZ of sports journalism and always has been.

[sadbear]

3. And don't forget Skip's man crush on Tim Tebow.

Seemingly unrelated, but is it really?

[LibertyLover]

4. While I'm not a white Redskins fan, I am a caucasian Baltimore Ravens fan

and all I can say is that I cheer for the team, whether it's a tackle by Mr. Ray Lewis, an interception by Mr. Ed Reed, a block by Mr. Michael Ohr, a breakout run from Mr. Ray Rice, a sack by Mr Haloti Ngata, a field goal by Mr. Billy Cundiff, a pass by Mr. Joe Flacco or a scramble for yards from Mr. Tyrod Taylor, not the color of the skin of whomever made the play. I doubt that Redskins fans, of whatever race, are any different.

[Panasonic]

5. Bayless has lost all credibility

since he started sucking up on Tim Tebow.

Man, are we glad to get rid of him. I can see he's not doing very well in New Jersey.

[yellowcanine]

6. Oh BS. Sounds like projection to me. And how does he get to speak for a whole group

of people. Not to mention that the basic premise is suspect anyway. There are a lot of black Redskins fans in the DC area - particularly in DC and in PG County MD. Black or white, the fans will root for the QB who promises the best chance for winning.

[spanone]

7. america is moonwalking back to the 1860's

[d_r]

8. something to google

alabama black quarterback

[sadbear]

9. Doug Williams?

Did they chase that guy out of town?

[mattclearing]

10. This was my thought as well.

Sounds like this comment came from the same idiotic line of thinking that produced Limbaugh's McNabb comments a few years back.

[AngryAmish]

11. Skip Bayless is a jackass. His brother, on the other hand, makes amazing food.

I know he probably doesn't cook much anymore but if you are ever visiting Chicago go to Tompolobampo, or Frontera or XOCO (depending on your price point). They are right downtown and amazing.

[sadbear]

14. Holy crap! Those guys are brothers?

I love Rick Bayless. And not just his food. He is clearly one of the nicest guys in the restaurant business and his cultural knowledge and sensitivity is quite admirable.

[WhollyHeretic]

21. I had no idea they were related. I can see it now. I can't stand Skip. Rick is great

I've got one of his cookbooks.

[AngryAmish]

25. If you have a loose day, make Bayless' State Dinner mole

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/20/bayless-black-mole-recipe_n_583397.html

It makes a lot and it freezes wonderfully. I made it on new years two years ago. I haven't had a loose day since (of course that doesn't include the days on the golf course but priorities...)

[fishwax]

46. +1

Never had the chance to visit his restaurants, but I've used his recipes and some of his product line, and I've always enjoyed his TV shows and appearances. And one of these trips to Chicago it will finally work out with the restaurant(s)

[n2doc]

12. What a freakin idiot

He needs to go the same way as rush. RG3 is the best thing to happen to the redskins in a long time.


Ask Panthers fans if they would rather have someone other than Cam Newton. Go ahead. Performance is all that matters.

[Johonny]

13. It wasn't that long ago this was true, you know

It wasn't that long ago there were no black QBs. Your center of your offensive line was white because you needed to "think" in that position. Your QB was white because he had to be a leader etc... NFL front office is way different in mentality now compared to just 30 years ago. Heck compared to 20 years ago. Will some Redskin fans reject their QB because he is black? I think a certain sector of NFL fan is certainly captured by Skip Clueless statement. In the 70s it was a huge segment of the fans and front offices. Today? in Washington DC? IDK. NFL fans turned out to be more accepting than front offices to guys that help teams win no matter their race and position. But in a land where a political party can run basically on a platform that they aren't the black guy and get 40+ % of the vote, I imagine Skip's comments do capture a certain segment of the NFL fan.

[hifiguy]

23. I remember some dipshit in 1988 asking Doug Williams

"how long he'd been a black quarterback" during the runup to Super Bowl XXII. Williams kept his cool and Washington hung 35 points on Golden Boy Elway and the Broncos in the second quarter alone. No one had any stupid questions for Mr. Williams after that.

[LynneSin]

24. I think you are way off base.

Sorry but it's true.

First, if anything the Redskins were the first team to win a Superbowl with an African American QB (Doug Williams) so if anything Redskin fans know firsthand that it's all about the win and alot less about the skin color.

Second, understand that DC is a very fluctuating town in regards to it's residents. A large population of the people who live there that could possibly think like what you described are people who are there either as an elected official, his/her support staff, lobbyists & staff and reporters. Most of those people go home and cheer on their own football teams. Those that are permanent residents of DC are diehard fans and majority are very supportive of whomever is running the team provided they get the win.

I live in a city where the last 3 major QB to run our team have all been African-American (Eagles - Randall Cunningham, Donovan McNabb and now Michael Vick). When these guys don't bring home the win, they can be orange with lime polka-dot skin color and we'll still give them hell for not getting the job done. But when one of them is slimed in the media for their skin color (about a decade ago when Rush Limbaugh hosted ESPN football he made a similar racist comment about McNabb) the fans were united as one calling bullshit on the racist comment.

[Johonny]

30. I'm off base to think racism isn't dead?

Skip Clueless thinks (implies) 100% of whites will be racist. Clearly this is wrong. I say "I don't know in today's NFL how many are". Fans weren't united in running Rush out of ESPN, Tom Jackson and the ex-players on the set were united in running him off the show. Rush's radio fan base always had his back. Because there are racists out there. Racism isn't dead.

I hope you are right and that race won't be a factor. But the 2008 and 2012 presidential race tells me for some segment of the population it will be a factor in politics and the NFL

[LynneSin]

38. I know racism isn't dead

I just know that the permanent residents of football in DC cheer on the team regardless of the QB.

[Yavin4]

15. Skip Was The One That Started The Rumor That Troy Aikman was Gay

in order to sell his book about the Cowboys.

[gollygee]

16. They'll stop being Redskins fans if they don't have a white QB?

Bullshit. This is stupid. People are stupid.

[FSogol]

17. What a marroon. The entire town has been going nuts over RGIII.

ESPN needs to drop the idiot.

[madinmaryland]

18. Bayless is an idiot. If you spend a few minutes a day listening to DC Sports Radio,

the only discussion is about RGIII. Kirk Cousins gets no mention, whatsoever.

What an idiot.

[LynneSin]

26. So it sounds like the only controversy is the one that Skip Bayless created

ugh!

I hope he has a long & productive career in sports broadcasting like Rush Limbaugh had

[madinmaryland]

35. It's all Bayless. All the DC sports guys are smitten with RGIII (at least so far)

The real question is how long Danny-boy Snyder will stick with him, or let Shanahan run the show.

[11 Bravo]

37. Ummm, I listened to WTEM and WJFK this morning, and both stations had a segment ...

discussing how some callers were claiming that Cousins should start. While I think he was foolish to impugn the motives of ALL white fans, I believe that Bayless was simply pointing out that racism in sports still exists.
(And this Caucasian life-long Skins fan hopes that RGIII comes in and absolutley kicks ass!)

[LynneSin]

39. The racism isn't that some callers would like for Cousins to start

The racism is the sportscasters that make a pointed effort to find out the skin color of those people who have said that.

[11 Bravo]

40. Possibly, but today the only people I heard speculate about the race of those callers ...

who want Cousins to get the nod were other callers. The hosts didn't bring it up at all. (Although that will probably change when LaVarr and Dukes come on this afternoon. They love to stir the pot!)

[Ikonoklast]

44. Not to say that this is the case, but sports talk shows are notorious for using 'ringers'.

They are on the list and told to call in with contrary and controversial views in order to stir things up.

After all, if every caller or commentator agreed about everything, it would make for one boring show.

[hifiguy]

19. Skip Bayless is, has always been and always will be

an asshole of truly epic proportions. Last season he was blowjobbing Tebow every time he was within screaming distance of a microphone. I kept wondering when one of the resident ESPN smartasses - Stephen A. Smith comes to mind - was gonna ask him if he would ever get off his knees. How does this pathetic piece of crap still have a job with national teevee exposure?

And even the most racist NFL fans will cheer for any player that helps their team win.

[Romulox]

20. Oh yeah. The fans will NEVER cheer for black players in the NFL.

[yardwork]

22. I hope that he is fired before the day is out, and I expect he will be.

Sports commentators have been fired for less.

[Are_grits_groceries]

27. Bayless is out to get attention for himself in any way possible.

He will take a position on a player, team or some other individual, and he will never change his mind about it. Skip thinks he is never wrong.

After what he did to Troy Aikman, he should never have another public forum. He was covering the Dallas Cowboys, and he was writing one of several books that he penned about them.

Somehow, a rumor was making the rounds that Aikman was gay. There was never any proof, but the rumor took on a life of its own. Bayless included this in his book in order to get more sales. He never had a shred of info.

He is a demented clown who thinks he knows everything.

[joeybee12]

28. You should cross-post in sports...Skip is hated there...

That said, the vast majority of sports fans don't give a shit about a player's color as long as they win.

[Mike Daniels]

29. More a Skins fan due to living in the DC area than actual "like" for the team

That said, I'll root for RG3 on general principle since he has the stones to wear Barney the Dinosaur socks at a press conference.

[hifiguy]

32. He seems like a cool kid.

Hellacious athletic talent. Obviously quite smart - I've never seen him descend into "jock speak" in any interview, and he seems very personable. I wish him nothing but good luck except when Washington plays my Vikings.

[renie408]

31. Jesus, how can people BE so painfully STUPID?

Is it some kind of Twitter/Facebook mentality that leads people to believe that every tiny thought that wanders through their brain is important enough to share with the world? EVERYBODY thinks weird shit, but most of us have a filter that makes us STOP before we say that stupid shit out loud. And those of us who not only have the filter, but have a brain to go with it can also stop and consider whether or not those thoughts are racist or insensitive or reality or just the crazy talking.

[Iggo]

33. "Hey, Skip. Say something controversial."

It's his fucking job. Half the time you can tell even he doesn't believe the shit that's coming out of his face-hole.

[snooper2]

34. I don't care what color their QB is, I say fuck the Redskins

Peel them back and watch em' bleed LOL

[Blue_Tires]

36. Bayless and Cowherd are morons anyway

all they know how to do is spew trollish bullshit statements because it always gets more viewers than sane, rational sports talk...

I don't know how those two don't walk around with a permanent fist indentation in their faces...I can't imagine even their own families respect them

[iloveObama12]

41. How am i not suprised that this was skip bayless

[nanabugg]

42. No matter how distasteful it seems...it's true. nt

[LynneSin]

43. How so?

Here in Philly we have always been supported of our QB and the last 3 major QB to lead our team have all been African-American.

It's not about skin color - it's about winning games!

[CBGLuthier]

45. How dare anyone inject race into a discussion about a team called the REDSKINS.

Why the very nerve of some people.

[fishwax]

47. Bayless often makes himself the story by saying stupid things.

But this whole "human nature" bit is idiotic even for him.

[4th law of robotics]

48. Perhaps some people think that way, but that's a pretty broad generalization

Also white sports fans don't seem to have trouble rooting for teams that are predominately not white.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

49. Fans of any color root for who wins

Redskins fans want to see RGIII, guy is gonna be fun to watch. Bayless is an idiot.