Im black and am not offended by this. Why is this a problem? His skin is the exact same color as the football its a fact we can all see! I bet Lamar is aware of this and it is a slight advantage I would think. [Reply]
Just a dumb thing to say as a media figure. Why bring race into it to begin with? We're talking about football not any of that other bullshit. Very, very dumb and yeah a suspension was the right call. [Reply]
Guy's a public figure - he's gotta be smarter than that.
Apart from the fact that it's insensitive (it is, fellas), the juice isn't worth the squeeze. It isn't a particularly insightful comment and it's hard to defend even on its face. I mean shit, how many defensive players actually see the BALL anyway? At the mesh its stuck behind a pile of bodies. They look at body language more than anything and that's why Steve Deberg - as white as they come - was a legend on play fakes.
But he's gotta know better than that. I mean Dusty Baker was a black dude and took a world of shit for saying that black and hispanic players react better to heat because their ancestry came from hotter climates and their skin tone prevents them from getting sunburned, etc... This was in 2003 from a black guy in an environment that was far more forgiving of that sort of thing and a statement that was probably more empirically supportable.
And nobody just ignored it. He got in some trouble for it and I don't have a problem with that.
This guy got suspended for a game. That's probably fair. But I don't think anything more should come of it. It was insensitive and inane, but probably not malicious. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DeepPurple:
As a Ravens fan I don't see a problem, as already noted he has a physical advantage. Some light skin QB's should take note and wear brown arm sleeves, I never realized this and Tim Ryan has a point. Unfortunately the world is full of etiquette police now and everyone has to analyze almost everything they say.
Yeah we were talking at work and consensus was he wasn't wrong. I am going to laugh if some QBs do switch to football brown sleeves.
Originally Posted by notorious:
Also, I only read the article. In a soundbite the context might completely change my outlook.
How someone says something is as important as what they say.
Originally Posted by Hammock Parties:
Steve DeBerg had the greatest play fake of all itme.
White as fuck.
A couple nuances its seems some people might be taking in divergent ways.
First, there is a world of difference if the radio dude is saying;
'Lamar sucks. He's just lucky to have dark skin to give him an unfair edge in handoffs,'
versus
'Lamar is wily, he uses every advantage to get that little edge.'
Regarding the latter, which is the more charitable or more fair interpretation, depending on your perspective, Deberg had huge mitts, which he used partially to cover the ball from view and partially to palm it and quickly hide the ball behind his back, all of which contributed to his play-action advantage.
Deberg's monster mitts were as much an innate trait as any other here.
It's not skin color giving you an unfair advantage, it's being aware of all your advantages and foibles and adjusting your play to maximize effectiveness.
Unless there is express evidence in support, I think it's unfair to assume that the radio host was implying that this hypothetical advantage reflected poorly in any way on the rest of his attributes. It's not saying he's less intelligent, or cheating, or relying on instinct. On the contrary, if it's a volitional strategy, it speaks well to his competitiveness. [Reply]
So ... it would be okay if the announcer dude had said, "Lamar's giant feets help him keep his balance."? In other words, it's simply the reference to the color of his hands that caused the outrage?
Like, why isn't Josh Allen considered an MVP frontrunner?
They have super close stats : Allen has thrown for slightly more yards, Lamar has thrown for more TDs but Allen has ran for more, all in one less game than Lamar.
So, why all the hype about Lamar, but almost literally none about Allen? [Reply]
Originally Posted by notorious:
Also, I only read the article. In a soundbite the context might completely change my outlook.
How someone says something is as important as what they say.
If you listen to the actual recording your gonna feel even worse for Tim Ryan.
You could tell he didn’t mean it at all in a racist manner and that’s the problem with today’s society. Obama always talked about, “it’s all about starting a conversation” Tim Ryan starts a conversation about his skin tone and how it might’ve helped hide the ball a bit and he’s being attacked like this? Lol...
If I was pale as **** with a white uniform and a white ball, and they said on air about me, his very pale skin makes it hard to see the ball, how in the world should or would that offend me?!?!?!? It’s fact if my pale skin is concealing the white or pale ball... [Reply]
Originally Posted by rabblerouser:
The NFL and its hypocrisy knows no bounds.
Like, why isn't Josh Allen considered an MVP frontrunner?
They have super close stats : Allen has thrown for slightly more yards, Lamar has thrown for more TDs but Allen has ran for more, all in one less game than Lamar.
So, why all the hype about Lamar, but almost literally none about Allen?
You're not suggesting that Allen is being snubbed in MVP buzz because he's white, are you? [Reply]
