NAACP president outraged by McNabb column

[flowomo]

HILADELPHIA -- The chief executive officer of the NAACP criticized the president of its Philadelphia branch Thursday for racially charged comments made about Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb.

Bruce Gordon, who heads the Baltimore-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, issued a statement calling McNabb "a great quarterback, an excellent role model and a class act" and said he intended to apologize for denigrating remarks made by Philadelphia chapter president J. Whyatt Mondesire.

"The NAACP has many civil rights issues that require our attention," Gordon said. "Criticizing Donovan McNabb is not one of them."

Mondesire, who also publishes the Philadelphia Sunday Sun, criticized the quarterback's proclivity for passing in a Nov. 27 newspaper column.

He wrote that McNabb's tendency to run the ball early in his career "not only confused defenses, it also thrilled Eagles fans," and that abandoning that element "by claiming that 'everybody expects black quarterbacks to scramble' not only amounts to a breach of faith but also belittles the real struggles of black athletes who've had to overcome real racial stereotypcasting in addition to downright segregation."

Mondesire said Thursday he was not speaking in his capacity as a branch leader.

"This has nothing to do with the NAACP. It's my opinion," he said.

McNabb could not be reached for comment Thursday, but said last weekend that "I always thought the NAACP supported African Americans and didn't talk bad about them."

"If you talk about my play, that's one thing," McNabb said. "When you talk about my race, now we've got problems."

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2260096

[hezekkia]

1. good.

Mondesire is a dick. he's just pissed the Eagles are losing, so he takes it out on Donovan using the race card.

good job, national NAACP.

[oldtime dfl_er]

2. really an ill-advised comment

I mean, was Fran Tarkenton black and I just didn't notice? John Elway? Two of the best scramblers ever.

[Catch22Dem]

5. Young (Steve, not Vince) could run too

Bledsoe & Montana? Not so much.

[SquireJons]

8. Joe Theisman

...was a pretty good runing quarterback until LT and Carl Banks decided to make a pancake out of him. I never even noticed he was black. Must be because Doug Williams is so much blacker. It's still really hard to tell...

[goclark]

3. Go NAACP! nt

[MrSlayer]

4. The amount of garbage D-Mac has to put up with is astounding.

The 30 idiots booing him on draft day, the Limbaugh thing, T.O. throwing him under the bus and now the leader of the NAACP says he's gutless and not black enough. I really feel bad for this guy who has been nothing but a winner and a class act throughout all the controversy. Donovan is a positive role model for kids, he's a family guy, doesn't get in trouble, speaks eloquently, does amazing things for charity and accepts far more responsibility for losses than he has to. He's one of the best players in the league and a great guy and he's constantly being shit on. It's disgusting.

[acmejack]

I couldn't agree more.

He was much beloved at Syracuse and is a fine example. Tough as nails (played a game with a broken fibula!), a leader, a winner, a lot not to like there. Philly is as tough a place to play as there is, IMO.

[NorCalDem]

7. Yep, and he puts up with it while putting up

huge numbers. Donovan is a true Eagle, he'll spend his entire career there and end up going to the Hall of Fame. He's a class act if there ever was one. GO BIRDS (next season :D)!

[NI4NI]

6. Mr. Mondesire, how did Randall Cunningham

another black QB in Philly denigrate a Doug Williams or a Warren Moon by scrambling more often than a Rodger Staubach did?