ESPN Gives Analyst 30-Day Suspension After Asking if Black Redskins Player Is a ‘Cornball Brother’ (Plus: Read His Apology)
Rob Parker, the ESPN analyst who asked if a black Redskins quarterback is a “cornball brother,” will be suspended for 30 days. In a statement addressing the matter, ESPN’s vice-president of production, Marcia Keegan, noted the network’s errors in assembling the episode of “First Take” and of re-airing it without cutting out Parker’s comments about race. Keegan dismissed the comments, made about Robert Griffin III, as “inappropriate.”
The suspension started last Friday and will continue from that point. To prevent future issues from unfolding, ESPN plans “enhanced editorial oversight.” And it seems that Parker isn’t the only party facing discipline. Keegan said that others who were responsible for the comments airing have also faced “appropriate” ramifications.
Rob Parker on ESPN’s “First Take” (YouTube)
Parker has already admitted that he “blew it” in making his “cornball brother” comments and that he hopes to apologize to Griffin directly. In an open letter published on Twitter, he wrote:
I blew it and I’m sincerely sorry. I completely understand how the issue of race in sports is a sensitive one and needs to be handled with great care. This past Thursday I failed to do that. I believe the intended topic is a worthy one. Robert’s thoughts about being an African-American quarterback and the impact of his phenomenal success have been discussed in other media outlets, as well as among sports fans, particularly those in the African-American community. The failure was in how I chose to discuss it on First Take, and in doing so, turned a productive conversation into a negative one. I regrettably introduced some points that I never should have and I completely understand the strong response to them, including ESPN’s reaction. Perhaps most importantly, the attention my words have brought to one of the best and brightest stars in all of sports is an unintended and troubling result. Robert Griffin III is a talented athlete who not only can do great things on the field, but off the field handles himself in a way we are all taught – with dignity, respect and pride. I’ve contacted his agent with hopes of apologizing to Robert directly. As I reflect on this and move forward, I will take the time to consider how I can continue to tackle difficult, important topics in a much more thoughtful manner.
As TheBlaze previously reported, Parker, who is also African American, unleashed his comments while speaking about Griffin and his career last week.
CLEVELAND, OH – DECEMBER 16: Quarterback Robert Griffin III #10 of the Washington Redskins shakes hands with quarterback Colt McCoy #12 of the Cleveland Browns at Cleveland Browns Stadium on December 16, 2012 in Cleveland, Ohio. Credit: Getty Images
“Well, [that] he’s black, he kind of does his thing, but he’s not really down with the cause, he’s not one of us,” Parker said. “He’s kind of black, but he’s not really the guy you’d really want to hang out with, because he’s off to do something else.”
Then, the analyst mentioned the football player’s “white fiancée” as well as the notion that Griffin may be a Republican. He pondered whether he is “a brother, or a cornball brother.”
(H/T: USA Today)
–
Related:
In CONTROL, Glenn Beck presents a passionate, fact-based case for guns that reveals why gun control isn’t really about controlling guns at all; it’s about controlling us. Find out more HERE.
Popular Stories
S.E. Cupp vs. Michael Moore on Guns: ‘I Just Happen to Be Informed’ 411 Comments
Sarah Palin Posts Pic of Alaska Snow: ‘Global Warming My Gluteus Maximus’ 303 Comments
Report: Hofstra Student Was Shot, Killed by Cop Trying To Rescue Her 289 Comments
Charles Krauthammer: IRS Scandal Could Be a ‘Fatal Problem’ for Obama 250 Comments
Obama Suggests IRS, Benghazi, AP Phone Scandal Are Just ‘Politics’ 234 Comments
Faith
-
Congressman: IRS Demanded to Know Content of Pro-Life Group's Prayers
Read More
-
You Criticized Obama: Famed Christian Radio Host Alleges Outrageous IRS Intimidation
175 Comments
-
Network Releases Statement on Pat Robertson's Controversial Advice to Cheated-On Women
155 Comments
-
'Blasphemy': Prominent Faith Leader Calls Obama Out Over His 'God Bless You' During Planned Parenthood Speech
193 Comments
-
Graphic New Details About Gosnell's Filthy and Flea-Ridden Home and Clinic Emerge: 'The Smells Were Just Unbearable'
Read More
Business
- This Map Shows the 'Riskiest' Places in the World 101 Comments
-
Krauthammer's Impressed With Obama's IRS Answers: He Makes Bill Clinton's Parsing Look Unsophisticated
Read More
-
Congressman: IRS Demanded to Know Content of Pro-Life Group's Prayers
Read More
- America off Limits: Soviet Tourists Were Banned from Visiting These Areas During the Cold War Read More
-
These Are the 4 Most Important Takeaways from Today's IRS Hearing
153 Comments
Technology
-
Woman Who Lost All Limbs to Flesh-Eating Bacteria Gets $200K Bionic Arms
Read More
-
Why Are These Zoo Keepers Baffled by This Anteater’s Babies?
Read More
-
Largest Lunar Explosion in NASA History Caught on Video
122 Comments
-
Ever Wonder How It'd Look to Have Your Face Eaten by a Bear? Here's Your Answer
Read More
-
New Energy Secretary Named With Unanimous Confirmation
153 Comments
Submitting your tip... please wait!
Comments (95)
demsrtraitors
Posted on December 21, 2012 at 10:11amHe’s already a hero to blacks and white liberals.
Report this comment
Proverbs17-12NLT
Posted on December 21, 2012 at 10:38amESPN like CNN and MSNBC are losing viewers daily because of this type of crap.
Report this comment
deskjockey
Posted on December 21, 2012 at 11:29amIsn’t this the same organization who fired the guy who typed a headline using a very well known cliche about an asian basketball player. And that man also apologized profusely, and I believe, HONESTLY did not mean anything racial about it. That has to be made an example of, but this belittling of a decent young black man and his fiancee, because of his political beliefs or his refusal to be a bigot himself, that is a-ok? WTF?
Report this comment
000degrees
Posted on December 21, 2012 at 11:53amTake 30 days off…around the holidays…..it’s ok cuz espn is down with the cause…..obviously!!!!
Report this comment
Truthbeliever2
Posted on December 21, 2012 at 12:45pmUrban dictionary says this term is a compliment, but liberals just need something racial to bitch about as usual. I wonder if you liberal dung piles have ever accomplished anything without using supposed racial injustice to get your way. You really are the weakest form of life. Be proud.
Report this comment
Palmer1943
Posted on December 21, 2012 at 3:36pmJust one more of the New Racist celebrities promoting vile hate filled rhetoric. He has just elevated himself up to the status of Jamie Foxx, Samuel L. Jackson, etc. The Liberals do love there HATE. A 30 day suspension??? I wonder if it would have been the same for a white person to have made those kind of racist statements? Hopefully soon main street media will be gone. If viewership numbers have any meaning it would appear so.
Report this comment
WildschweinJager
Posted on December 21, 2012 at 3:48pmHe is a dummy who does not believe in the content of a person’s mind but in the color of their skin.
Report this comment
WildschweinJager
Posted on December 21, 2012 at 3:50pmESPN really sux bad. So does CNN. Everybody knows that already, but the libs can’t accept the truth.
Report this comment
dwilco77
Posted on December 21, 2012 at 7:52pmI want to see him, on TV, face to face, with Griffin, and apologize like a Man – not like a liberal wuss who can spout manure out of his mouth, and hope it will all go away by writing an apology that he really doesn’t mean, but has to do cause he wants to keep his job.
Report this comment
jim375
Posted on December 23, 2012 at 8:30pmone of the many reasons i dont watch sports anymore. liberals are using every outlet they can to brainwash the public….sad thing is it seems to be working, how else do you explain obama’s re-election after absolutely ruining our economy and giving billions of taxpayer funds to his liberal buddies.
Report this comment
Beachmastermax
Posted on December 21, 2012 at 10:06amWho you callin’ brutha?
Report this comment
IndyGuy
Posted on December 21, 2012 at 10:05amNext He’ll be apologizing for his NON-APOLOGY…
Report this comment
loriann12
Posted on December 23, 2012 at 1:13pmYea, what I got from that is he wasn’t sorry for the comment, but WHERE he made the comment…the forum he used. He still believes the NFL player is not a REAL Black man. So much for free thinking…if you ain’t on the plantation with the rest of them, you’re white.
Report this comment
muddpuddle
Posted on December 21, 2012 at 9:52amWhat the flip is a cornball?
Report this comment
willingtoupe
Posted on December 21, 2012 at 10:09amSteve Urkelesque. A black man that is truly educated, talented, and stays out of ( doesn’t cause any ) trouble. Has “white” interests ( girlfriend) and thinks beyond is radius of his urban origin.
Tiger Woods would be considered a cornball even though he slept with filthy prostitutes…but it’s the fact that not one of them were black…
Report this comment
TommyandtheCommieKillers
Posted on December 21, 2012 at 10:39amI took “Cornball Brother” to be a replacement for “Uncle Tom”
Report this comment
doubletap
Posted on December 23, 2012 at 5:36pmBreak cornball down into two parts, corn = corny or fake , ball = screwball or crazy. That”s how a friend broke it down for me.
Report this comment
The-Monk
Posted on December 21, 2012 at 9:50amSo, was he suspended for 30 days without pay as a punishment.
Or….
Suspended for 30 days with pay as a reward?
Report this comment
thegreatcarnac
Posted on December 21, 2012 at 9:48amWho cares about it all? ESPN is very, very liberal. The whole Pro-Sports system is anti-white and liberal. I do not watch pro-sports much anymore. I found that I don’t miss anything by not watching. I am proud and white and I will not watch something so blatantly racist against me. ESPN is so racist that they will go against even a black guy who actually tries to get along and act like a regular citizen. What do you think they think about whites?
Report this comment
Cabo King
Posted on December 21, 2012 at 9:46am30 days is gonna change this racist? NOT what a joke, and yes we do know why you cant fire him…LOL
Report this comment
mattmo79
Posted on December 21, 2012 at 9:43amNice double standard ESPN. I stopped watching your network years ago because of this same type of BS!
Report this comment
SpankDaMonkey
Posted on December 21, 2012 at 9:43am.
Awwwww did the little black racist get in trouble Awwwwwwwww………..
Report this comment
Cavallo
Posted on December 21, 2012 at 9:30amGood to see that ESPN does it’s hiring and firing decisions based on race. You have to understand that in this country you can say some things depending on what your skin color is. Punishments are even relegated by official policy in some states based on race in schools. I guess the theory is that if you are black then you just cannot control your base impulses to break rules and disrupt classrooms. If we were honest we should remove MLK day from the calendar because The State and private organizations in the name of political correctness have made a sad twisted mockery of his legacy.
Report this comment
monitor
Posted on December 21, 2012 at 9:44amespn is but an extension of the liberally biased media.
Report this comment
lynnissmart
Posted on December 21, 2012 at 9:25amI heard his comments….they were stupid and moronic.
Report this comment
naughtycal
Posted on December 21, 2012 at 9:36amIf a white annoucer made that remark he would have been fired on the spot…..F EPSN they’re just one in a long list of industries that treat people different based on race….
Report this comment
bhelmet
Posted on December 21, 2012 at 9:21amHard to discipline a man they agree with so much.
Report this comment
nzkiwi
Posted on December 21, 2012 at 9:21amI went back to the original story to look at the video and it said:
“This video has been removed as a violation of Youtube’s policy against spam, scams, and commercially deceptive content.”
Hmmm…
A Youtube contortion to find a way to do somebody a favour perhaps?
Report this comment
Sy Kosys
Posted on December 21, 2012 at 9:25ambtw, nzkiwi
My wife is kiwi too, and got me hooked on rugby lol Go All Blacks! (an ironic tie-in to this story hehe)
Report this comment
nzkiwi
Posted on December 21, 2012 at 9:31amNice to hear that she’s educating you properly, Sy !
Merry Christmas and a happy New Year to you both.
Report this comment
biohazard23
Posted on December 21, 2012 at 9:49amThe All Blacks are awesome. Hey, Kiwi, Merry Christmas! You, too, Sy!
Report this comment
nzkiwi
Posted on December 21, 2012 at 10:06am@ Sy
Not to make your wife feel homesick but here…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6qmdqvItkM
As I’m sure your wife will confirm, the is serious but good-humoured trans-tasman rivalry. New Zealand produced a “100% Pure New Zealand” TV advertisement to attract Australian tourists over here. It was was very successful.
Here are a couple of Australian responses to the campaign which were aired on their national television.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JARkLg_lHFo
Come and visit us some time :)
Report this comment
nzkiwi
Posted on December 21, 2012 at 10:23am@ Bio
Merry Christmas to you and your family. And a happy birthday to your young son, which must be coming up soon.
And may your God walk beside you all throughout the coming year.
Report this comment
Sy Kosys
Posted on December 21, 2012 at 12:40pmMerry Christmas to you both, as well!
I remember watching the last RWC, and boy was the wife fit to be tied! Much closer game than it shoulda been, what with Carter being injured and Weepu having accuracy issues lol
We’re actually planning a retirement in about 8yrs or so to either Hamilton (where the wife is from) or Arundel, get me established for a couple yrs then move to the Gold Coast (which btw we visited back in Sept) where her mum/sis live.
Back to work, and again wishing you all a very Merry and safe Christmas!
-Sy
Report this comment
LadyLibertykicksASS
Posted on December 21, 2012 at 9:21amParker is an Idiot, he’s one of those blacks that thinks you gotta be a Gangsta to “Really be Black” !!!
He is ignorant, and the worst Role Model for young black people. Robert Griffin is an excellent role model, well spoken, intelligent and he will succeed far beyond anything that Parker could ever imagine !!! Well done, Mr. Griffin !!!!
Report this comment
naughtycal
Posted on December 21, 2012 at 9:33amI agree even in last weeks games he coached Cousin on the defense Griffin can read a defense like some of the best quarter back to every play the game. Roberts is part of the same black culture that labeled house slaves and later blacks that worked with whites as uncle tom. He is hatred in it’s rawiest crudiest form.
Report this comment
OUTLAW_WEALTH
Posted on December 21, 2012 at 9:21amToo much sensitivity. Just the way the chaos mongers want it.
Report this comment
Walkabout
Posted on December 21, 2012 at 9:16amSuspension = rehabilitation period where he is taught to be a better liberal.
That is be a little more covert in feeding viewers liberalism.
Liberal re-educator to Rob Parker: “Feed the Masses smaller does you numbskull!”
Report this comment
ginger100
Posted on December 21, 2012 at 9:11amWhat % of the black community got their marching orders?
Report this comment
Sy Kosys
Posted on December 21, 2012 at 9:11amA lack of ebonics = cornball brother?
And here i thought that the media is very desirous that a black quarterback do well
Report this comment
WiredRight
Posted on December 21, 2012 at 9:08amApology my “butt”… ESPN, get this racist pig off the air.
Report this comment
NHwinter
Posted on December 21, 2012 at 9:04amAh, they want their rights to almost everything, but not the right to think differently. That is just not acceptable. Progressives are such hypocrits.
Report this comment
MadNewYorker
Posted on December 21, 2012 at 8:58amBottom line if he was white ESPN would of fired him last week.
Report this comment
Walkabout
Posted on December 21, 2012 at 9:17amExactly
Report this comment
Cavallo
Posted on December 21, 2012 at 9:18amThey fired Rush Limbaugh when he merely suggested that the Eagles QB was being purposefully overrated because the media wanted to see a successful black QB.
Report this comment
seek.the.truth
Posted on December 21, 2012 at 9:26amExactly right! His statements were blatently racist. A suspension is not enough.
Report this comment
biohazard23
Posted on December 21, 2012 at 8:56amParker is an f-ing idiot. He’s probably jealous that RGIII has talent and a lovely fiancee whereas Parker is just a hack.
Report this comment
Obamazombies
Posted on December 21, 2012 at 12:40pmIf Obama had a son.
Report this comment
progressiveslayer
Posted on December 21, 2012 at 8:52amI think Parker is suspect,look at his caramel colored skin who is he calling a ‘cornball brother’? He should be calling out the ‘ONE’ because he is in fact mulatto.
Report this comment
Walkabout
Posted on December 21, 2012 at 9:19amI am surprised that Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton don’t go around with photometer or some other device to measure darkness & purity.
Report this comment
lynnissmart
Posted on December 21, 2012 at 9:24amMade me chuckle!
Report this comment
Zipit
Posted on December 21, 2012 at 10:44amWalk, Slayer! Just can’t help it! Gotta hit this one up again!!! Speaking of Sharpton!
http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=NfxVkLhlu5s&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DNfxVkLhlu5s
Report this comment
JACKTHETOAD
Posted on December 21, 2012 at 8:49amHe’ll resurface on messnbc as a ‘political commentator’, I’m sure. Those lefties just recycle one another.
Report this comment
biohazard23
Posted on December 21, 2012 at 9:13amAs long as they don’t breed, we should be all good. :)
Report this comment
Walkabout
Posted on December 21, 2012 at 9:17amso true.
Report this comment
RightUnite
Posted on December 21, 2012 at 8:48amWhen ESPN fires his sorry *zz, I’ll watch them again, until then, ah, not so much.
Report this comment
RJJinGadsden
Posted on December 21, 2012 at 9:15amI mentioned this here when this lunacy was first posted. I’m truly irritated that ESPN will be airing the NCAA National Football Championship game. Looks more like my son and I will gather around the radio to listen to Eli Gold this year instead. Frankly, going back to the late ’90s I’ve often tuned the games in on ESPN just to mute TV and listen to it on the radio anyway. Far better coverage. These days, ESPN has a few seconds time delay with the college games.
Report this comment