Cincinnati.Com: Robert Griffin III refuses to be defined by race

[bigevhfan]

Good for Griff. No individual should ever be judged by their ethnicity. Being a minority is not a disability and Griff is spot on with his comments.

---------- Post added December-13th-2012 at 05:20 PM ----------

Uncle Tom, now THAT is offensive. I dare anyone to give a character flaw with RGIII. He is class personified. It bothers me that the "Uncle Tom" phrase has even entered this discussion.

[Bang]

I am very happy to say that ever since Robert came on th radar,,, this is the FIRST TIME i've seen his race brought up by the media.
maybe there has been and i've missed it, but this is the first for me.

It's a ridiculous question anymore in the NFL.
Robert is Robert. He's not black Robert, or African America Robert.
He's just Robert, a fine upstanding honorable young man playing great football. And to my knowledge, his race has never been a topic worth discussing. I'm sure it matters to some for the right reasons, and it matters to others for the wrong reasons.
But it doesn't matter to me, and so far it hasn't seemed to matter to a single football fan I've ever come across. Everyone is in love with this guy. I've never seen anything like it. Fans of every team can't help but gush over him.

~Bang

[NLC1054]

To put a point on it, I know it was mentioned earlier, but if RG3 had thrown 18 touchdowns 18 INTs, had a completion percentage of 54.9%, threw the kinds of picks Luck had thrown, even if he was winning while doing it, we wouldn't hear the end of the "an 'athletic'/'running' quarterback" not being able to succeed in the NFL, and he'd be getting compared to Vince Young, and people would be wondering outloud if he could ever improve.

Even now, people try to demean what RG3 (and Russell Wilson, to a lesser extent) are doing this season. RG3's offense is "simplistic", and he doesn't have to make the sort of reads, and we run the same concepts over and over, and we have a workhorse running back. I've seen more people try to take away from what Robert's doing, and the football fan in me doesn't like to think it's because of race, but as an African-American, it's kind of hard to not think some of it's not because of race.

Meanwhile, I've seen just about every excuse I can stomach for why Andrew Luck can be mediocre (at best). His scheme is more complicated, he doesn't have a guy to check the ball down to, he has a worse team, and he's elevated this bad team to playoff contention. Like Robert doesn't have his team on a four game winning streak, one game out of the division lead, and in the playoff hunt, while beating some of the best teams the league has to offer.

Being a black quarterback, or "athletic" or a "runner" is a stigma that every African American quarterback has to deal with. I completely understand Robert's desire to just be know as a great quarterback, with no qualifiers.

[BobGriffin]

I just saw them talk about this on ESPN's First Take. Rob Parker really wanted to call RG3 an Uncle Tom, but he's smart enough to not to. He definitely beated around the bush. He even had the nerve to bring up the fact that RG3 has a white girlfriend.

Rob Parker exists to be inflammatory and controversial. He goes about this in anyway he can to get attention and I really dislike him. He misreported (and was the only one) that Kirk Cousins got into a fight with members of the Michigan State hockey team and there was pending legal action. He also asked Rob Merillinli (Sp?) during a post game press session if he wished his daughter married a better defensive coordinator (his son in law was on The Lions staff ) I really can't stand the guy. He comes off as arrogant on ESPN and his very strong opinions usually aren't backed by facts at all.

[NLC1054]

I just saw them talk about this on ESPN's First Take. Rob Parker really wanted to call RG3 an Uncle Tom, but he's smart enough to not to. He definitely beated around the bush. He even had the nerve to bring up the fact that RG3 has a white girlfriend.

Oh. Em. Gee.

BLACK PEOPLE DATING WHITE PEOPLE!?

[RedskinsTime]

I believe Rob Parker was also quoted as saying, regarding RG3, "Is he a brother? Or a cornball brother?"

Shaking my ****ing head.

[DM72]

I believe Rob Parker was also quoted as saying, regarding RG3, "Is he a brother? Or a cornball brother?"

Shaking my ****ing head.

I really wanted to punch dude in the mouth when he said that. I'm black so I know how a lot of other blacks think and unfortunately if you don't act like some hoodlum or you're not some babies daddy, or hasn't spent time in jail, you're not black enough.

[BobGriffin]

I really wanted to punch dude in the mouth when he said that. I'm black so I know how a lot of other blacks think and unfortunately if you don't act like some hoodlum or you're not some babies daddy, or hasn't spent time in jail, you're not black enough.

I am too and I know what you mean. It's sad really.

[TimFolk]

I really wanted to punch dude in the mouth when he said that. I'm black so I know how a lot of other blacks think and unfortunately if you don't act like some hoodlum or you're not some babies daddy, or hasn't spent time in jail, you're not black enough.

He's hated on The Nationals/Redskins I've been wanting the **** him up

[Momma There Goes That Man]

Yeah, I was really upset by that whole first take segment. It seems both african american guests on the show Stephen A Smith and Rob Parker completely missed what Robert was saying. He isn't distancing himself from being black or saying he isn't proud of his race and heritage and how that relates to his accomplishments. He has never said that. They apparently do not understand that an African American can be proud, be a "real brother" but also be himself and not wear his "blackness" on his sleeve to prove he is a" real brother." Parker even brought up if Griffin was a Republican or Democrat as another indicator of things he wants to know to determine if he is a "cornbread brother" or a "cornball brother"

Robert does not fit into their ideas about what a real black man is supposed to be and they aren't sure how to handle it other than to beat around the bush about calling him an uncle Tom. It was a pretty sad segment honestly. Robert wants to be Robert Griffin III, all world QB for the Redskins, period. He doesn't need any other qualifiers. I'm sure they mean something to him but he is very private. End of story.

[BobGriffin]

Yeah, I was really upset by that whole first take segment. It seems both african american guests on the show Stephen A Smith and Rob Parker completely missed what Robert was saying. He isn't distancing himself from being black or saying he isn't proud of his race and heritage and how that relates to his accomplishments. He has never said that. They apparently do not understand that an African American can be proud, be a "real brother" but also be himself and not wear his "blackness" on his sleeve to prove he is a" real brother." Parker even brought up if Griffin was a Republican or Democrat as another indicator of things he wants to know to determine if he is a "cornbread brother" or a "cornball brother"

Robert does not fit into their ideas about what a real black man is supposed to be and they aren't sure how to handle it other than to beat around the bush about calling him an uncle Tom. It was a pretty sad segment honestly. Robert wants to be Robert Griffin III, all world QB for the Redskins, period. He doesn't need any other qualifiers. I'm sure they mean something to him but he is very private. End of story.

I didn't know Steven A was going along with it. What a trashy segment

[DM72]

I didn't know Steven A was going along with it. What a trashy segment

Stephen A was doing what Stephen A does best. Playing both sides on the sly.

[HogNose]

So name me a caucasian qb who is considered an all time great who never led their team to a title game, let alone win one?

Jim Hart.

[War Paint]

I think the best leaders unite people of all races and creeds. RG3 is one of those players. Blacks, Whites, Hispanics, Asian Skins fans are excited. Even fans of other teams are excited, unless they just hate our team. Conservatives, liberals, black helicopter crowd, religious, non-religious Skin fans are excited. Unfortunately, race is going to be the most important issue for some people. Some white people will only want a white QB. Some black people will say RG3 isn't black enough. It's best just to ignore those people because I think they are small in numbers compared to the overall population of Redskin fans. I think it's great that RG3 can be the role model for kids of all races.

[LadySkinsFan]

About the "pro-style offense." Robert is a pro. Kyle is a pro OC. The East Coast Offense is a pro-style offense just because it's played in the pros.

Robert is my QB, and I'm glad he's on the Redskins. I don't care what color any of the players are, they are all Redskins. Same with any other team.

Personally, I'm sick of how Americans divide one another up into different classes based on whatever, and then make the classes that aren't like them the enemy. This divisiveness needs to stop, and we need to stop making enemies of each other.