ESPN suspends analyst Parker for comments about RGIII
ESPN announced on its website Friday that it has suspended commentator Rob Parker, who questioned the “blackness” of Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III while on the air a day earlier.
“Following yesterday’s comments, Rob Parker has been suspended until further notice,” spokesman Jos Krulewitz said in a statement. “We are conducting a full review.”
The spokesman made no further comment on the matter.
ESPN earlier quickly responded to the racially charged comments, calling them “inappropriate” and hinting the network may take some action against him.
“The comments were inappropriate and we are evaluating our next steps,” David Scott, ESPN’s director of communications, said on Twitter.
During a segment of ESPN’s “First Take” on Thursday, Parker said:
“Is he a brother, or is he a cornball brother?
“He’s not really. He’s black, he kind of does his thing, but he’s not really down with the cause. He’s not one of us. He’s kind of black, but he’s not really like the guy you really want to hang out with, because he’s off to something else.
“… I want to find about about him. I don’t know because I keep hearing these things. We all know he has a white fiancée, then there was all this talk about he’s a Republican. … I’m just trying to dig deeper into why he has an issue because we did find out with Tiger Woods — Tiger Woods was like ‘I have black skin but don’t call me black.’”
Parker’s comments came in the wake of remarks Griffin made after practice Wednesday — in response to reporters’ questions about race — and reported in USA Today:
“For me, you don’t ever want to be defined by the color of your skin. You want to be defined by your work ethic, the person that you are, your character, your personality. That’s what I’ve tried to go out and do.
“I am an African-American in America. That will never change. But I don’t have to be defined by that.”
Griffin’s father told USA Today that Parker “needs to define what ‘one of us’ is. That guy needs to define that. 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,” Robert Griffin II said.
“Robert is in really good shape on who he is, where he needs to get to in order to seek the goals he has in life … so I don’t take offense.”
RGIII didn’t respond directly but he did tweet that “I’m thankful for a lot of things in life and one of those things is your support. Thank you.”
(Commenting closed. Please enjoy the wide range of views on this topic)
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
357 comments Add your comment
Seattle
December 14th, 2012
7:56 am
They should celebrate when? When he comes to play the Seahawks?
Dee
December 14th, 2012
7:56 am
Not only is homeboy a racist, he reeks of a jealous hater to boot.
Mr lucky
December 14th, 2012
7:57 am
It was way out of order and the station needs to correct mr Parker, there s and has been way too much of these types of race baiting comments recently !
Besides as a Black Man I have no idea what “cause” he is supposed to be standing up for !
Vernon C
December 14th, 2012
7:57 am
Those are some of the most idiotic and juvenile statements I have ever heard a “journalist” ever make. Is there some type of “blackness” scale Rob Parker has that we aren’t privy to? RGIII carries himself in an honorable manner and has nothing he needs to change. Rob Parker ’s comments don’t represent all African American’s feelings and he should be held accountable for his stupidity.
Howard Costello
December 14th, 2012
7:57 am
In Atlanta we all work with black professionals, man of them are like rg3, the work hard, are on time, and are serious about the profession. Yet the media tells us that blacks must at least identify with the ghetto culture. It holds everyone back.
Vernon C
December 14th, 2012
8:00 am
@Mr Lucky; Sir I didn’t get the memo about what “cause” he is not down for either. What a ignorant statement by a supposed “journalist”. He needs to be suspended because had a white guy made those statements there would be a problem. (I’m a 40 yr old Black Man)
Howard Costello
December 14th, 2012
8:00 am
At least we can all agree that cam is black enough.
Ray
December 14th, 2012
8:00 am
Okay Rob Parkers comments ARE NOT RACIST!
Does anyone know what the definition of racism or being racist is? Someone actually said it on page 1.
Daniel
December 14th, 2012
8:00 am
It is racist no Matter who says it. Othello your comment is Ignorant!!!
Ray
December 14th, 2012
8:02 am
I’ll give you stereotyping, but racist it’s not.
Ned Kelly
December 14th, 2012
8:04 am
Career suicide. ESPN will throw him under the bus, which is where he belongs. Bye Bye Rob Parker…
Reebok
December 14th, 2012
8:05 am
I don’t know anything about Parker…just judging from his rambling remarks noted above, he SOUNDS like an idiot…but I will say that I now like RGIII better because of his classy response. Happy Friday to all of the…um, what is it? Cornball Brothers? Cornrow Brothers? I am so confused.
A rose by any other name...
December 14th, 2012
8:06 am
Some might have been tempted to respond to Parker’s idiocy by turning it around and saying, “Well Parker, I guess we’re even, cuz I wouldn’t be interested in hanging out with a self-hating ghetto hack like you either”.
Kudos to RGIII for rising above that.
Jim P.
December 14th, 2012
8:06 am
The fact is RGIII is a quality human being, regardless of the color of his skin. He is a role model that any parent would be proud of. I am white and don’t think he has to be anything different. I would be proud to have a son of mine look up to RGIII. I am sure he has faults like we all do, but so far he is a great example for our youth. Rob Parker should take that to heart instead of using his skin color as a platform for his own agenda.
Circleoffire
December 14th, 2012
8:08 am
One other thing, if this had been a white man making comments of this nature he would have been suspended immediately and then fired! There would have been no “may take action”, it would have been immediate and harsh! Take it as you will but it’s the truth! ESPN needs to be like RGIII: right down the middle, no black, no white, everyone the same!
Howard Costello
December 14th, 2012
8:08 am
Ray,it is prejudice, ignorance, and fear. And if black America is serious of eradicating prejudice out of white America, they have to challenge their own thinking when based in prejudice, without that, we are wasting our time.
Class of '98
December 14th, 2012
8:09 am
“Were Parker’s comments out of line?”
Good grief, do you even have to ask that question? Unbelievable.
Howard Costello
December 14th, 2012
8:11 am
Rg3 has self esteem, he takes credit for his hard work and achievement, he is an individual….that don’t fit with “you did not build it” America.
A rose by any other name...
December 14th, 2012
8:12 am
Parker will be cleaning out his desk by the end of the day.
What will be interesting to see is, who will step up to a microphone and defend Parker and his comments.
Quantavious Ladarious Jones
December 14th, 2012
8:13 am
Rob Parker is that idiot that said the Falcons didn’t deserve to win.against the Giants in the playoffs last year because Atlanta has sorry fans. He went on to mention the infamous Braves division playoff game where there were some empty seats in the upper deck. The same story ESPN glorifies from time to time (but they don’t mention the Yankees having whole sections empty in the upper deck during the playoffs this year!). In Rob’s article he went on to bash southern heritage and made some generic wise cracks that included sweet tea, front porches, peaches etc. He is a d-bag that is from Detroit and occasionally comes on First Take. By the way, why has First Take gotten so f*cking ghetto?? You would think that shows on BET.
Howard Costello
December 14th, 2012
8:13 am
Rg needs to thank Obama for the roads he drives to get to work, for without that, he is nothing.
Ray
December 14th, 2012
8:14 am
@ Howard Costello
I agree, but at the same token I still did understand where he was coming from. It was mentioned later in that segment by Skip Bayless about Rob Parker dislike with Tiger Woods where it came from. He was saying it happened when Tiger was on Oprah basically that’s when Tiger Woods went on record saying “Don’t call me black.” At that point many folks of black color say F him.
Parker is basically being cautious about RG3 is all he later admitted, or sounded like he did.
Like I said I don’t agree, but I just understand where he’s coming from.
Falcon 1
December 14th, 2012
8:15 am
They fired Parker in Detroit for his stupid comments…now ESPN needs to do the same…
TrishaDishawareagle
December 14th, 2012
8:17 am
I think cornball brother means he doesn’t carry an EBT card
Jamal
December 14th, 2012
8:17 am
And he gots him a Snow! Yeah………..
JB
December 14th, 2012
8:17 am
Its amazing what articles AJC lets us comment on which ones they don’t. Its like they want us commenting on the ignorant stuffthat’s not important at all.
Tomahawkin
December 14th, 2012
8:19 am
Just goes to show how trashy BSPN has become. The commentators spend more time talking about what happens off the field than on it. That Network should be known as MTV-Sports
Wes
December 14th, 2012
8:19 am
RG3 is class. This guy loves God and loves people. His work ethic is undeniable. I’m white but when I started my relationship with Christ, I started seeing with different eyes. We are all his children and RG3 is no different just as all of you. Let it go
Merry Christmas
Bob
December 14th, 2012
8:19 am
Hypocritical, maybe. (Imagine his reaction to a similar discussion on the whiteness of someone…whether he was really one of us, etc). But, racism? No. People need to chill. Disagree if you want, but settle down. People are different. Even groups of people share characteristics, generally. There isn’t anything wrong with that, and there isn’t anything wrong with observing what is right in front of your face. RGIII doesn’t act like most black people act. A black guy observed that.
Where’s the crime?
Arthur Redding, Jr.
December 14th, 2012
8:20 am
Young black men are less interested in race being the defining issue in their lives than many older black men. Robert Griffin is a great young man and part of this new generation that is more interested in achievement than they are in grievances. Older black men like Parker feel threatened by this new generation, by and large a happier and more relaxed generation.
TrishaDishawareagle
December 14th, 2012
8:20 am
Fear not, Rob Parker, you will always have ndonkeykong sue
First Black Superbowl winning coach
December 14th, 2012
8:21 am
And who could forget Dungy being asked about being the first black to win the superbowl from head coach standpoint? Smith and the Bears were already in, so it was appropriate for the CBS reporter to ask that question….from the white perspective too!!
Howard Costello
December 14th, 2012
8:22 am
I think people understood where the klan was coming from too when they called people race traitors. It does not make it any less ignorant. White men don’t have to declare their whitness, so what tiger had to do was humiliating. You have to do more than understand where it is coming from, you have to recogonize that it is in neec of social change necessary for us to reach true equality.
Ray
December 14th, 2012
8:22 am
@ Bob
That’s pretty much it not saying he should act ignorant go out and smoke a blunt. Because not all blacks act like that, but to a lot of older folks he doesn’t do certain things like again the white fiance(I have no problem) some people have an issue with that.
Basically it’s one of those you feel like you’re better than us type things. Sometimes that’s not the case though it’s just hey I prefer this over that like if I prefer the color red to blue.
Angela
December 14th, 2012
8:24 am
As a black woman, I know that blacks are the worst racists within “the black culture”. I was and am still not black enough to be black. What is a college-educated black man supposed to do? Rob banks, break into apartments, steal cars, rape women, listen to hip-hop, eat hog maws and chitterlings instead of Subway, shack up with a black woman, father 20 children out of wedlock, lay up all day without a job and live off of his woman’s welfare check, become a Democrat and speak ebonics to prove he is black?
RGIII has the right perspective, something that Martin Luther King wanted for his children – to be defined by his character, not his color. ESPN had better fire Parker – NOW.
Johnny's Cash
December 14th, 2012
8:24 am
Who is Rob Parker?
Bernie Matt
December 14th, 2012
8:25 am
I wish the next time a reporter asked a black athlete about race, the athlete would just say next question. The reporter was setting this backlash up. Either he wanted to make RG3 seem too black for white to cheer for or he wanted him to seem not enough black for blacks to root for. It seems he achieved the latter. Causing Rob Parker to respond with stupidity. I wish someone would delve into what relevance the initial reporters question had as it relates to RG3 performance. I’m willing to bet everything i own that same reporter would not dare ask Andrew Luck a question about his “whiteness”. So again, I say whomever, this reporter works for should discipline him, unless they encourage this behavior. And if that be the case then black athletes should refrain from talking to that reporter.
Quantavious Ladarious Jones
December 14th, 2012
8:25 am
All Rob Parker was saying is that RG3 is a white washed Swoogie like Tiger Woods. I guess it offends some of the “real” brothers if you don’t dance and do Super Man poses after each first down, have a stern looking scowl on your face in pictures, mumble and speak broken English and Ebonics at interviews and on Twitter, drive a car with 30″ chrome wheels, brag about having a gun, have tattoos on your neck and act like you want white people to like you and act like you like them. Rob Parker is a little weasel that works for ESPN…he’s the last person that you would consider “real” anything.
Ray
December 14th, 2012
8:26 am
@ Howard Costello
Thing is though Tiger Woods they way he said it for many folks is I HATE THIS RACE. Like please don’t ever call me black at all. I don’t have a problem with RG3 comments because it didn’t sound that way, but again Rob Parker he even said himself was raising a few red flags cause he though he might turn out like Tiger.
I do admit I have a problem if people say they legitimately hate their own race no matter what. Cause my response to them it’s not going anywhere so you might as well be proud of it.
Kramer
December 14th, 2012
8:29 am
No, no, no, espn has it all wrong. It is OK to be a racist if you are black. As long as a white person did not point out that he was married to a white woman and a republican it is OK. Welcome to the new America people. Get use to it.
Ray
December 14th, 2012
8:30 am
@ Bernie Matt
Interesting point, but with the way things work now-a-days someone was bound to ask that question. I don’t get that whole “How does it feel to be (insert race) and do (insert first for culture)”.
But again he didn’t ask it someone would.
Jaime Hills
December 14th, 2012
8:31 am
Robert Parker is a jerk and his comments are completely ignorant. Robert Griffin III said how he feels and his comments are respectable and correct. Everyone should be judged by their character and his character is upstanding. Bravo to him for saying what he really thinks. He is a professional athlete that kids can admire.
Howard Costello
December 14th, 2012
8:32 am
Ray, maybe he hated the race because he hated being treated different. Jack Nichalous did not have to explain what it was to be white. But anyway I can tell you a good guy, but in the end it is prejudice, but I am very proud of all our rookie qbs, they are a really good bunch, and this schmuck needs to be fired.
Mel
December 14th, 2012
8:32 am
After working for many years with an African Americans majority….it appears to me Parker is just stating the consensus in that community; something they don’t usually share with us “white folks”. Many underlying things we don’t know…(I.e. we don’t wash our hands after relieving ourselves….I know that’s off subject…but true!). Shall I go on?
BuckeyeInGa
December 14th, 2012
8:33 am
As a black woman, I know that blacks are the worst racists within “the black culture”
who else is within black culture besides black people? Really don’t understand what you’re saying.
Parker’s comments were dumb and he is guilty of stereotyping RGIII. The comment isn’t racist though. Some people like to through out that word without even knowing the difference between racism and prejudice. It’s great RGIII ignored him. People of all races in Washington D.C. root for the guy.
ATLien4Life
December 14th, 2012
8:34 am
As a born and raised Atlantan of mixed race – Black and Latino – I can tell you that Rob Parker’s sentiments are not unique to him. There is a huge segment of the Brothahood who won’t acknowledge your “blackness” unless you’re a certain shade or you behave a certain way.
Rob Parker needs to go….
Ray
December 14th, 2012
8:35 am
As for the whole racist stuff I’m just going to say it would sound bad either way.
If me being black which I am said to someone of white, or other descent a question like that re-worded of course. I’d probably get the same level of backlash.
Same thing if some white says it.
I think the only reason that it’s a bigger issue it’s like they know blacks will be in a uproar or other races will be. In a way it’s almost like shock jock journalism.
Brain
December 14th, 2012
8:35 am
Yes…he needs to be a “real brother”…like PacMan Jones or Andre Rison. Yes, yes….that’s exactly who he should aspire to be.
What a freaking idiot. He should be fired for being stupid. Brain-dead stupid; not for being a racist.
TrishaDishawareagle
December 14th, 2012
8:35 am
Now, Darkness, the tables are turned…Do with him whatever you like.
Darkness is spreading!
Erin "spike the ball" Murray
December 14th, 2012
8:36 am
he is racist because he talk bad about RGIII white fiancee. she does have some nice curves.