it just seems like if you have any black in you, you are considered black.

I think the old rule as far as checking the race/origin box on something is if you are one eigth black then you have to mark African American.

Stupid.

…though Czarnecki does say it was ‘voiced’ that Garrett had this issue, or whatever. Maybe one of the writers said it on the radio, or TV or something? Something apparently happened, if Czarnecki believes that the entire fan base began to feel this way. I don’t know anything about this which is why I’m asking others for help.

Very cool. I favorited that. Antonio’s grandarents!

My guess was that it was the Burwell piece you were referring to, and/or some other appearances Brian may have had. This is his kind of angle.

I used to like him a lot when, I believe, he wrote for the USA Today. He still does some good work and is as opinionated as ever—as was the case in the Romo piece—but I don’t seek his stuff out the same way I used to. Here’s the piece Rafael is talking about:

Jason Garrett, latest St. Louis Rams head coach candidate, isn’t ready for prime time

I read this before I made the fan post here. It seems a huge stretch for Czarnecki to claim what he is in his column off of this piece by Burwell, but I could see how that may have happened. The thing is, it’s even more of a stretch to say that the entire fan base or whatever soured on Garrett because they believed, at least based on Burwell’s piece, Garrett couldn’t coach black players. That’s ridiculous, in my opinion. It’s actually more than absurd, it would be irresponsible to put that out there on an already inflamed situation.

I want to think that there has to be more to this story, some radio and/or TV and/or other writings to back this up, what Czarnecki wrote. You should not be casually tossing out racially-tinged assertions based on such flimsy material. Why would Czarnecki do that, if that’s what he did? Is he just another T.O. hater? And if he is, why on earth would he try to say it’s T.O.‘s fault that some St Louis writer(s) supposedly inserted the race card? I don’t get it; it seems counterproductive if you’re trying to make T.O. look bad.

That is, by bringing up race you draw people’s attention to what they may feel is a reason why T.O. is taking so much heat. Perhaps Czarnecki has more information than we know, or perhaps he just wanted to take on the elephant which appears to have been in the room for some time and that others have already begun to comment on. Blaming T.O. for what a writer(s) in St Louis supposedly said, though, I don’t know if that’s going to work, especially without more proof. And that’s not even bringing up the whole ‘entire fanbase’ aspect.

Thanks, Rafael.

…Glory. And you make a great point about the difficulty black coaches can have in coaching black players. I know exactly what you mean. Because of the history of our society sometimes black players can take the same disrespectful view of African-American coaches that others may have taken in the past. That is, they may not see them as true authority figures or as the guy who is really in charge. Or, as you also point out, the player may want the coach to understand him and his situation/background more so than, say, a white coach, and that can lead to other possible problems.

This is what I really believe happened this year, and it is just my feeling but based on looking at the totality of the reporting that came out: Players really began to feel as though Romo was off-track, with practices, the early season struggles, whatever. Remember how close T.O. and Romo were last year, and how T.O. cried and talked about Romo at the end of the season? I think that was real.

What happened this season, it seems, is that guys started to feel like Romo wasn’t mentally getting it done, or progressing, or whatever, but they began to perceive that not only wasn’t the media covering that possibility of the rich, celebrity, cute white quarterback, they were going all-out against the brash black superstar. This likely wouldn’tve been such an issue except that guys felt there really was an issue with Romo, and the stilted coverage really began to hit home as unfair and possibly biased by more than just their dislike of Owens.

I’m not saying this is what happened, but I think the players may have come to believe this, and, I have to say, I feel that some of this kind of thing did happen. Meaning that it became a little too easy to dump on T.O. and similarly too simple to believe Jess’ boyfriend and Witten. The media didn’t start waking up to the truth of how players felt until both Williams and Gurode called out Witten, and, finally, T-New made his ‘coward’ statement at the end of the season. Plus, of course, the choke job in Philly. That’s when the whole ‘charismatic’ T.O. like Czarnecki parrots here began to really take shape.

Now tell me if this situation is beyond repair in your eyes?

Stewart was stood down because he was running the offense of Wade and doing a poor job. The D was struggling so we had the guy who designed it step in. JG was running his own offense and had nobody in a position of authority to him who could step in and start calling plays. On top of that, our offense was not struggling any where near as badly as our defense and removing him of his duties was not called for.

On Manning and Brady and comaparing them to guys like Campell and Russell. Maybe the reason they have had more success is purely because they are better qbs. Race doesnt have anything to do with it. And to suggest that the only reason Manning and Brady are any good is because they are surroundded by black players is just plain wrong. The reason they are so good is because they are extremely talented and are surrounded with a group of very good black and white athletes.

On Manning being the ‘face’ of the NFL, while I dispute that, the reason he is everywhere in the media is his charasmatic prsonality and the fact he is one of the two best players at the NFL’s glamour position. To see black leaders of teams look at guys like Ray Lewis or Troy Polamalu. These guys donmt just smile and shuffle their feet, which by the way is another outrageous accusation.

Every single one of your posts has been about how black athletes are discriminated against. How about you come here and talk football instead of diluting numerous threads with complaints about how the whole NFL, media and society are part of a conspiracy to make it harder for black athletes.

…I appreciate your kind words.

You bring up a lot of good points. Let me just say this to start with: I’m not a Brian Stewart fan, as least as DC. I just don’t think he did a good job. And that’s how guys should be evaluated, not because they have nice nicknames like RHG, but are they getting the job done. I don’t think Stewart did. But I’m also not sure RHG did, either, and he should be looked at just as Stewart was. Maybe that was part of the point of Burwell’s piece — it’s not about nicknames or perceptions, it’s can you get the job done.

All the citations you make about guys around the league saying how vanilla the ‘Boys offense was this year really hits home. I had forgotten some of that. I like RHG, and said not too long ago that I would be good with bringing him back. However, the "me or him stuff with T.O., if it’s true, was a bit much for me and others in the organization may have felt the same way. Jason regressed this year, or such is the apparent common wisdom around the NFL. That means he probably shouldn’t be getting into power struggles with the team’s top playmaker, no matter how much Ed Werder or anyone else wants to pile on.

I do think a kind of Romo/Witten (and/or his agent)/Garrett ‘cabal’ formed this season. Not saying that one shouldn’tve formed or there wasn’t a legitimate reason for this faction to feel it had to protect itself or whatever. But this dovetailed with what groups like ESPN wanted, and foster. Same with many local media. And I think that when the T.O. part of the locker room realized how persistent and consistent this group was with getting its message out (some of which may have little to do with them and a lot to do with ESPN, …), they hardened against it. Hence the calling out of Witten by Gurode and Williams. I think the Garrett faction thought people would peel off of T.O.‘s side but just the opposite happened and now we have the ’charismatic’ T.O. stories everywhere. To be clear, I absolutely believe this is as much the Garrett faction’s fault, if not more so, than T.O. and his group. Yes, T.O. was dumb to talk to Deion and complain, but he didn’t call out any players. He basically called out Garrett. Yet when Werder-Gate broke T.O. was tarred and feathered and everyone piled on. And when T.O. spoke, the team was 5-4 and struggling with Romo out, I think. What were they before the Giants game? A lot better, and looking ot make the playoffs.

You also make great points about Romo likewise calling out RHG. Again, stuff I forgot. But it’s been there all the time. Coverage of that? Scant, if at all.

I want to say this: One guy who stood up for Brian Stewart was JJT. He said what Wade did with him was wrong. I have to give JJT that.

The rabidness with which some in the local media assail T.O. is disturbing. Really offensive. One of the articles I link to above by a black internet writer points out how casually JFE rips Owens. My own mind goes to Mac Engel and one rubbish piece he typed when Owens did well and Witten did not. You could see the foaming at the mouth through the monitor. Peter King is a jerk, a punk. He’s a clown that got ripped for writing about his own daughter incessantly in his marathon columns in the past until something happened with her, some incident, and he stopped talking about her. Something like that. The amount of hate he has for Owens is ridiculous, but it’s also fairly common. Again, widely different cultural backgrounds and you wish Pete could reign it in somewhat. I wonder how he felt about Moss until Moss went to his beloved Pats? Tell me the next time T.O. hits a cop with his car, ok?

The NFL is much more inclined to lock down the individuality of its players than is, say, the NBA. This is a longstanding debate, the merits or lack of same regarding this policy. There is a seemingly insatiable desire to ‘get’ certain stars, like Mike Vick. The entire reason why PFT is so popular is what Florio did with the Vick case, how he covered it, and broke down legal avenues for parties to pursue with Vick (including Atlanta with its own contract, and the league). That was the situation that really put PFT on the map. Florio knows it, too, which is why he has his “days since last arrest” feature. He understands, and milks, the dynamics.

You make a good point about McNabb and other black QB’s. I’m not a McNabb fan, and there is a whole separate ‘good black guy’ vs ‘bad black guy’ thing that the media loves to play out regarding him and Owens. This also ties into McNabb/Limbaugh and McNabb/NAACP guy. All these little microdramas that are there under the surface. T.O. gets pulled into these things because of his history with McNabb and because T.O. is your quintessential brash black athlete guy. It’s sad, but true. That doesn’t mean T.O. doesn’t create his own headaches. He does. But his rap sheet is shorter than Plaxico’s, Moss’, Marvin Harrison (it looks like) and many others. But that doesn’t matter, it seems.

I love T.O. I used to dislike him but I respect him now and really appreciate his drive to succeed. And you always know he’ll show up when the big game comes, boos or cheers. He’s a warrior, and he can be in my foxhole anytime.

Thanks for you thoughtful response, Dallas.

D-coordinator. And it was also the black players on the defense who thought he sucked as well. I guess Demarcus Ware is a racist.

On the otherhand who is going to replace Garrett if he was fired? Ray Sherman? That guy already flamed out as a O-coordinator. We were in a position with Stewart where we had one of the best d-coordinators in the league as our head coach.

Furthermore, Garrett had a good season as a coordinator last year, and Brian Stewart didn’t. If Garrett has a second bad year like Stewart did I can promise you he’ll be gone.

As for Quarterbacks the media loves McNabb. Your logic makes no sense whatsoever.

The only area in football where racism is present is in college where there is obviously racist attitudes among the alumni towards black head coaches. Other than that I think you are just looking for excuses.

We all gotta walk on egg shells with this one.

Understood. I knew this could be a challenging topic but when I saw Czarnecki’s piece I felt it should be brought up. I hope I’m handling my posts ok and I urge others to please be restrained in their comments, as well. If you’re not sure if something should be written, then perhaps it shouldn’t or maybe the words could be rephrased. We all have feelings and need to do our best to respect others and their opinions, at least ones honestly and tactfully presented.

But Manning and Brady’s best friends are their respective O-lines. A bunch of fat white guys (for the most part). I seriously don’t see where you’re going with that one. There are black people, white people, and latin people too. Who cares? Maybe I’m a little more ignorant about the situation, but I think Manning and Brady were awful examples…

Dallas, you may be making a good point, but I can’t tell because I can’t get through that monolithic paragraph without my eyes rolling backwards into my head. Please consider the use of paragraphs to separate and organize your thoughts. It would be greatly appreciated.

will not allow it. They thrive on anything related to the Cowboys. It brings in the bucks, it gets hits on their website. Terrell on the other hand bought a fair amount of this on himself. He loves the spotlight (or loved, not sure anymore) and has to sleep in that bed now. You noticed how much negative press was afforded Randy Moss UNTIL he joined the Pats. Although I’m sure he didn’t change his stripes all that much, he joined a team that does the opposite of “I’m Jerry Jones. I own the Cowboys! Look at us!”. You almost never hear anything bad coming from the Patriot camp, even the Spygate crap got shoveled under the rug for the most part. JJ in his infinite wisdom has saw fit to make sure everyone pays attention to even the minutest detail when it comes to the Cowboys. So we as fans have to suffer the humiliations that most teams keep private. In addition, it creates animosity among fans of other teams for the perceived “favoritism” the Cowboys receive from the press. Go figure. I would love for any other NFL team to stand the constant scrutiny this team endures year in, year out. I don’t think they could handle it.

And you know what, you could say it even goes beyond singling out black players. The media seems to even cater to a certain type of black player. I think the media is still made uneasy by the guys with more of a street upbringing. The Tiki Barbers and Marvin Harrisons of the league seem to be protected.

Tiki Barber was every bit the cancer in the Giants locker room, that Terrell Owens is in Dallas, but no one woul say it. Marvin Harrison’s teenage fan-choking, and gun toting incidents are swept under the rug. Larry Fitzgerald is all things great, but he’s been charged with smacking his girlfriend around, more than once.

Though these guys are threatening, they get a pass because they do not look threatening.

Matt Jones didn’t get suspended until the last few games of an already-finished season for the crappy Jags and the dude got caught with booger sugar in his nose and in his lap! Plus he had a bag of grass on him. That was total garbage…

probably don’t know or forgot who Matt Jones is. T.O. on the other hand is as well known to the American public as Lebron James. That was a ridiculous comparison.

Everything is racial to him. If Kobe Bryant dunks, it was a way to get back at the rim for being racist… Another quality export of the wonderful city of Filthadelphia

You put it perfectly, as did Rafael upthread. Thanks.

Czarnecki is trying to ding T.O. but he basically crushes Garrett in the process. Thanks for nothing, JC.

I’m with you all the way, Glory. We have to be respectful about it, how we talk, but it’s something that should be discussed. If for no other reason, just to show that it is not the boogeyman that it is often made out to be.