Was Donovan McNabb betrayed or stabbed in the back by teammates and/ or was he haunted by his own shortcomings in winning the elusive Super Bowl Title???
Hey FAM ,
Here are some comments from a collection of e-conversations me and my friends a.k.a. brothers had over the Donovan McNabb/EAGLES and T.O. Fallout...These e-talks were initiated by the now (in)famous interview Donovan McNabb did with ESPN during the Superbowl XL Weekend where he stated that T.O. committed Black On Black Crime against him...You can read a summation of what Donovan said by clicking here...Below find my initial response to what Donovan said as well as my brothers' replies to what I said in particular and to the whole situation in general.
Bro. R2
On Feb. 2, 2006, I wrote:
On another note I think Donovan whines and moans more than T.O. does...I feel that Donovan is a savvy media darling and he has played the race card more than Johnny Cochran, Al Sharpton and Rush Limbaugh combined...Leadership is not given it is earned!!! The fact that the locker room is divided and no one but a has been (Hugh DouglASS)came to his defense shows that Donovan had leadership problems long before T. O. stepped on the scene...I think T.O. actually represents the true feelings and frustrations of many players not only on the squad but also around the league...Business isn't loyal to any one team, organization, business or individual...In other words business is very much like Love a straight out whore!!!;-) Truth be told Donovan was acting quite the racist in his ESPN interview when he stated that African Americans should support other African Americans and when he suggested T.O. picking Brett Favre over him was based on Brett Favre being white and not on his abilities as a great quarterback...Just reading what McNabb said in the ESPN interview makes me wonder if he is mature enough to be a leader among men and the first among equals...However given that he still have exceptional abilites I hope he continues to grow as a leader and have much success on and off the field.
On Feb. 2, 2006, N.B. wrote:
Hey Ron,
I have to disagree with you. Donovan is just telling his side of the story. I think he is a leader. I know for sure, that T.O. ain't. A leader does not sell your team down the river over some money. A leader does not purposefully make comments that divide a team, at least not right before or during the season. I respect Donovan for waiting until after the season to air his dirty laundry. He is not a fool. He sees he has fools on his team (anyone who would support T.O.).
And I feel T.O. was saying something about race when picking Brett Favre. His abilities? Where were those abilities this season? 20+ interceptions? Lowest QB rating in the league? He picked Brett b/c he personifies the whiteness of the league. But then, he could have had his pick: Manning, Brady, etc...If he was going to name someone and have me not think about it in a racial way, he should have said Brady. At least he is a winner! But who did he pick, Loser Favre with the dead daddy, cancerous wife, and homeless family. I support Donovan and like I said, he is surrounded by fools, those that don't want to attend his party and rather go to that clown's party.
I support the good Chrstian man!
I look forward to talking with you later...
N.B.
On Feb. 8, 2006 T.M. Wrote:
Hey all,
Whassup, and Go Steelers! So I've read both comments regarding McNabb, and I actually watched the ESPN interview McNabb had with the new hire Michael Smith (a young black man who used to be all over Around the Horn) during the Super Bowl coverage so when I heard McNabb say the "black on black crime" statement casually, I knew that the media would focus on it. Here's my piece:
1) I do not like the term "race card"; in fact, I really hate it. Here's what I think: when you see me in town, down the street, whatever, you already KNOW I'm Black. Look at the color of my skin and my features; there's no question that I'm Black. I see the same for McNabb and anyone else we know is obviously Black. Even if McNabb was acting white (for all purposes of the argument), look at why we'd say that about him...cuz he's obviously Black. There's no card he has that needs to verify his background, and I definitely don't have one. I think my birth certificate is back-up, evidence, but I don't carry a card with me. I'm not a card-carrying Black man cuz there's no card to carry; I'm wearing it. I don't like using the term at all, and I definitely get upset at anyone who's not Black and call themselves using it. If I hear them, I give them the spiel you just read. I think you get the point. That all said...
2) Secondly, I think it's unfortunate with how the tables have turned on McNabb, in my opinion. I think a lot of people feel the way you do, Ron, in some sense. I was talking with Byron about the issue during Super Bowl XL and he was saying that from what he's read etc, a lotta Black people are saying that McNabb's "black on black crime" statement was ridiculous in the same tone that you did, Ron. My response: "It's about as ridiculous as Black people implying that McNabb is a sellout, acting white, anything that claims he's not Black enough, isn't it?!"
It's not McNabb's fault that he's a media darling, that he knows how to express his thoughts more professionally--not always better but most of the time better--than T.O. It's not McNabb's fault that he talks properly; clearly his parents have shown him that you get more respect on first impression than if you go up and talk like you're crazy. I think there's a time and place for everything, and I know I don't always feel like talking professionally but I know how to differentiate when that time is. When I am on top of the world I'll talk as I please. When I'm working the job I do, I compromise: I'm asked how I'm doing and I'll respond, "I'm makin it, man" but tha's as far as I go most of the time. Black people need to stop thinking that talking professionally/properly is acting white! We need to break that cycle! It shows that we are educated!
I think that McNabb has carried himself with dignity, and I know that most of society like drama anyway. And they have a cable channel for them called TNT but tha's another story, LOL. You know about those repetitive forwards that try to play into your conscience, talking about how quickly we'll forward some stupid mess but won't forward any e-mail about God. To me, this is a similar situation in the sense that McNabb represents calm and virtue, if not the professional manner in which Blacks should carry themselves, and T.O. represents how society thinks we should carry ourselves: lying, airing out dirty laundry, apologizing and then doing the exact damn thing! And it's not necessarily all about T.O.'s wrongdoing...but more of that later. Remember how Michael Irvin and some ESPN people blasted McNabb for "reopening an old wound" and all that? I like what Nate said for waiting until your season was over before saying your piece. See, some people do like for sht to be started, and people were waiting for that. Why would McNabb jump on that bunch of mess in November and say his part? He probably didn't know exactly how to say it, so he waited, and that's another big difference between himself and T.O. To me, that's what McNabb has always been about: making sure what he says is clear and even. And he was just stating how the message hit me. If he felt it was like "black on black crime," then that's him. I think the whole T.O. attacking McNabb saga was black on black crime, esp. since Owens couldn't do all of that by himself.
3) I don't blame T.O. necessarily for all he said; what I got from what he said is that, the media always point to Brett Favre: "he's such a warrior..." T.O. did mention that, and I think he was pointing to the track record Favre has which includes multiple late-game rallies to victory, many more wins and 2 SB appearances, 1 world championship. For all the victories McNabb has, his track record is not that impressive. He also hasn't been in the league as long as Favre either. And if T.O. could shut his damn mouth sometimes then they could've made wonderful music together, probably could've played in SB XL, injuries aside. To me, I guess T.O. thought he was getting it right for what he was saying; white people do love them some Favre. But he was also saying that his QB wasn't doing the job. Plain and simple. But yes, the media definitely set T.O. up for that one, and part of it was they knew that T.O. would give them a controversial answer. They knew what they were getting when they decided to take a passing comment that Michael Irvin made on Dan Patrick's radio show and make an issue out of it. They're still laughing at all of it.
4) I still don't understand how former player (go on and retire completely then!) Hugh Douglas got into the mess but if I were McNabb, I'd tell him to kiss my ass (in true McNabb style, behind closed doors, cuz tha's how you handle team/family situations). He helped T.O. get benched in my opinion, but I hope he doesn't think the way he approached T.O. is a better leadership style. McNabb could probably be a better leader to the team without all the distractions. Which, to me, includes Douglas as much as T.O. and anyone else who's not thinking of the team. I agree partly with Irvin when he said that McNabb needed to tell his teammates who weren't focused, that he wasn't playing well etc., but I agree with McNabb telling them more than that: "Hey guys, I know we're not playing well right now, and a lot of that is because of me, but we must all still get and stay focused if we want to reach the playoffs." As a leader you must give them something to rally about, not just add to the mess of un-focus by pointing out your own shortcomings. You do that to show you're in the same boat, but then use that to build on your rally message. I think that.
This is all I have on the comments I've heard. Hit me up later but have a wonderful week!
tm
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