[kdmfox]

There has been a lot of discussion locally on sports talk radio if there has been a double standard here ... Lots of white announcers and coaches have been fired and reprimanded for a lot less ... ESPN has no comment and has broomed this under the rug.


Michael Irvin on Tony Romo:

Back in the 1990s, in between getting arrested in the company of hookers and cocaine, Michael Irvin caught a lot of passes for the Dallas Cowboy Super Bowl teams. This year, a journeyman white quarterback named Tony Romo (who is half Mexican-American) has suddenly gotten red hot, throwing five touchdown passes in the Cowboy's Thanksgiving Day victory. On Dan Patrick's ESPN radio show, Irvin, who is employed as a broadcaster by ESPN, laughingly suggested that:

"He doesn't look like he's that type of an athlete," Irvin said of Romo. "But he is. He is, man. I don't know if some brother down in that line somewhere, I don't know who saw what or where, his great-great-great-great-grandma ran over in the 'hood or something went down."

Patrick tried to suggest to Irvin that he shouldn't go there, but Irvin was having none of it, continuing:

"If great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandma pulled one of them studs up out of the barn, 'Come on in here for a second,' you know, and they go out and work in the yard. You know, back in the day."

It's common for white announcers to lose their jobs after referring to the genetic differences between black and white players, such as Paul Hornung who lost his radio job on Notre Dame games after suggesting that ND needed to lower its academic standards so it could recruit black players fast enough to compete with the Florida powerhouses.

So far there hasn't been much of a controversy over Irvin's comments. It's worth noting that it reflects the view widespread among famous black athlete that blacks tend to be genetically superior athletes. It's politically incorrect, but, hey, they're black so the usual rituals of censorship and public humiliation seldom apply to them.

[Tchocky]

I agree with you. There is a double standard.

[Willie Bee]

I don't ever listen to Michael Irvin regardless of what he's talking about.

[Dark Horse]

Doesn't take too many Olympics to see that blacks have better speed genes. They jump higher with an orange ball too. On the other hand, most quarterbacks are white. Probably because they're cooler under pressure.

[Razz]

Was this today? I can't believe no one is even talking about this.
This still doesn't bother me anywhere near as much as the Gumbel/Winter Olympics thing, because Irvin really isn't taken as a serious journalist, and it seems he was trying to be humorous.

[Razz]

I don't ever listen to Michael Irvin regardless of what he's talking about.

Yeah, this is the same guy who is on record as saying last season that the Colts had the best defense in the NFL.

[kdmfox]

Was this today? I can't believe no one is even talking about this.
This still doesn't bother me anywhere near as much as the Gumbel/Winter Olympics thing, because Irvin really isn't taken as a serious journalist, and it seems he was trying to be humorous.

I think it happened yesterday ... It was the main topic on the major sports talk show in Boston today ... The talk was that ESPN told everyone affiliated with it not to discuss it on air, radio or tv.

[stump]

It still amazes me that ESPN keeps that moron on TV. He adds nothing to the telecasts.

[SBR_John]

Is it that hard to just avoid that type of talk no matter what color you are? Are these guys simply brain dead?

Irving was a great player thanks to a great (uh should I dare say white?) quaterback, a great line and a guy named Smith. Otherwise, he would look better selling jewlery in the mall.

[jjgold]

Irvin has a huge following and players love him so he aint going anywhere, one of highst paid guys on espn for fotball also. Mikey likes to clown around so it was dismissed

[pags11]

Mikey also likes to party...