Cincinnati.Com: Robert Griffin III refuses to be defined by race

http://news.cincinnati.com/usatoday/article/1765701&usatref=sportsmod?odyssey=mod%7Cnewswell%7Ctext%7CSports%7Cp

ASHBURN, Va. -- Robert Griffin III has always seen the entire field with his beyond-his-years clarity.

That aplomb was evident again Wednesday when the charismatic Redskins rookie refused to be defined by race in answering three questions relating to the topic at the end of his news conference.

Griffin acknowledged his appreciation for black Washington Redskins fans proud of his transformative debut season -- and noted how he hopes to erase lingering stereotypes concerning African-American quarterbacks.

"For me, you don't ever want to be defined by the color of your skin,'' Griffin said at the end of Wednesday's post-practice news conference in reference to a question about Martin Luther King, Jr. "You want to be defined by your work ethic, the person that you are, your character, your personality. That's what I've tried to go out and do.

"I am an African-American in America. That will never change. But I don't have to be defined by that.''

Cont'd at link

I absolutely hate how a lot of people just compare RG3 to Vince Young, Vick, Newton, etc...

Why can't he be the next Steve Young? He has more similar stats to him than any of the guys I just listed.

I mean just imagine for a second that Andrew Luck has 18 TD-4 INT. They would be calling him the greatest rookie ever and a future HoF'er. Just doesn't seem right to me. It just seems like some people have to compare QBs to other QBs of the same color.

I absolutely hate how a lot of people just compare RG3 to Vince Young, Vick, Newton, etc...

Why can't he be the next Steve Young? He has more similar stats to him than any of the guys I just listed.

I mean just imagine for a second that Andrew Luck has 18 TD-4 INT. They would be calling him the greatest rookie ever and a future HoF'er. Just doesn't seem right to me. It just seems like some people have to compare QBs to other QBs of the same color.

Thats the world we live in my man.

Using the word color, when referring to race, really grinds my gears. Back on topic, I think that a lot of the people that compare him to Young, Vick, etc., do so because they don't want him to succeed at QB. It's a position that you should only speak of Caucasians when you mention the all-time greats.

Edit: then again, it may just be because they're not fans of the Redskins.

Using the word color, when referring to race, really grinds my gears. Back on topic, I think that a lot of the people that compare him to Young, Vick, etc., do so because they don't want him to succeed at QB. It's a position that you should only speak of Caucasians when you mention the all-time greats.

Edit: then again, it may just be because they're not fans of the Redskins.

What "non-caucasian" should be mentioned as an all time great?

I mean I get that non-whites were stereotyped and forced to change positions up until the 70's or so for the most part and I certainly know of the "code" words used in describing certain QB's as "cerebral" and others as "athletic". These are all fair and accurate criticisms and unfortunately there is some residual of it to this day (Luck vs. Griffin III).

However what I take issue is that you are seeming to indicate that this has led to "great" non white quarterbacks to not get their due as all time greats and I don't see it. The only player who would deserve to be in the conversation as an all timer is Warren Moon. But he never got his team to a Super Bowl. So name me a caucasian qb who is considered an all time great who never led their team to a title game, let alone win one? Warren Moon isn't knocked (or praised) any more or less than a guy like Dan Fouts. Both put up great numbers in their time, both led high powered offenses and multiple post seasons. They both were voted into the Hall of Fame. But both failed to reach a Super Bowl and as such both are not considered to be amoung the all time elite of the position.

Good! I'm so sick of this white or black QB BS. RG3 is our QB and I don't give a dayum if he slept with a dirty woman and turned green. Just keep playing great like ya been and keep on winning baby! Red, black, white, yellow, he can be my teams QB any and every day!

I don't give a dayum if he slept with a dirty woman and turned green.

WOOT! :point2sky

I absolutely hate how a lot of people just compare RG3 to Vince Young, Vick, Newton, etc...

Why can't he be the next Steve Young? He has more similar stats to him than any of the guys I just listed.

I mean just imagine for a second that Andrew Luck has 18 TD-4 INT. They would be calling him the greatest rookie ever and a future HoF'er. Just doesn't seem right to me. It just seems like some people have to compare QBs to other QBs of the same color.

This goes on in all sports, because Americans (especially sports media) view things racially.

I can remember back in the day when John Stockton and Mark Price were always compared to each other, even though their games were completely different.

A white guy can be talented and athletic as all get-out, but if he plays middle linebacker or defensive tackle, he's automatically "a real lunch bucket, blue collar kind of player."

Flash forward to now, when you see commenters on PFT running RG3 down as a "Vick wannabe," when obviously, the QB he is most similar to is Steve Young when you take skin color out of things.

Remember when Shanny criticized McNabb for not grasping the 2-minute offense and having cardio vascular deficiencies? John Feinstein wrote an unhinged, completely irresponsible column basically putting a KKK hood on the coach, attacking him for using "anti-black code words."

America today is just exceptionally race conscious. This can be good and bad, but the bad usually shows up in sports media.

Good! I'm so sick of this white or black QB BS. RG3 is our QB and I don't give a dayum if he slept with a dirty woman and turned green. Just keep playing great like ya been and keep on winning baby! Red, black, white, yellow, he can be my teams QB any and every day!

YES!!! I coach little league myself and we've won several championships with black, white and hispanic QB's. Think any of our parents or players gave a damn what color the QB was?!?! Hell no! That's the beauty of Football and sport in general. We root for the color of the uniform. Not for the color of skin. I'll be so glad when all this race crap goes bye-bye once and for all. Obama was elected president twice!!! That's a damn good sign that majority of the people in our Nation aren't racist.

He's the Redskins QB and that makes him the QB for all Redskins fans whether white, black, brown, yellow, red or whatever!

I don't give a dayum if he slept with a dirty woman and turned green

Hold on a minute there MS. What color green? Better not be philly green!

Whoever made that point about if Luck had Griffins numbers, he would get so much more praise... GREAT POINT.

Seriously, if Luck had 18 TDs and 4 ints, he would be getting the "greatest rookie season of all time" talk.

I cant blame people for being stereotypical about Griffin. I dont agree with it, but I cant blame people. You see, people are very dense, and sometimes the only way they can understand things is by comparison. And by comparison, when it comes to a QB, if that person is black, they automatically dub him the "Vick/Cunningham/Cam" etc;

Just like if a QB is small, they say "Drew Brees" I member many people saying Russell Wilson is like Drew Brees. Wilsons black, but what stands out more is that he is small. Wilson runs just as much as Griffin, but because hes so small, he gets the Drew Brees stereotype. People can be sooooo dense, lol.

Regardless, if Griffin continues to play well, then I hope he DOES get compared to Warren Moon or Steve McNair, or Steve Young, but I want a ring, and Im sure he does too. It will take a couple years, but the ring will come, and when it does, the stereotypes will fade.

YES!!! I coach little league myself and we've won several championships with black, white and hispanic QB's. Think any of our parents or players gave a damn what color the QB was?!?! Hell no! That's the beauty of Football and sport in general. We root for the color of the uniform. Not for the color of skin. I'll be so glad when all this race crap goes bye-bye once and for all. Obama was elected president twice!!! That's a damn good sign that majority of the people in our Nation aren't racist.

He's the Redskins QB and that makes him the QB for all Redskins fans whether white, black, brown, yellow, red or whatever!

There ya go! All that matters is can that kid or man play the position. There are many nationalities playing this game, some are very good and some aren't, and it's sure not because of their color or race. The best players are the ones who humble and self discipline themselves. Art Monk, Darrell Green, RG3, Russ Grimm, Joe Montana and so on. They are team players and that counts the most!

---------- Post added December-13th-2012 at 09:16 AM ----------

Whoever made that point about if Luck had Griffins numbers, he would get so much more praise... GREAT POINT.

Seriously, if Luck had 18 TDs and 4 ints, he would be getting the "greatest rookie season of all time" talk.

I cant blame people for being stereotypical about Griffin. I dont agree with it, but I cant blame people. You see, people are very dense, and sometimes the only way they can understand things is by comparison. And by comparison, when it comes to a QB, if that person is black, they automatically dub him the "Vick/Cunningham/Cam" etc;

Just like if a QB is small, they say "Drew Brees" I member many people saying Russell Wilson is like Drew Brees. Wilsons black, but what stands out more is that he is small. Wilson runs just as much as Griffin, but because hes so small, he gets the Drew Brees stereotype. People can be sooooo dense, lol.

Regardless, if Griffin continues to play well, then I hope he DOES get compared to Warren Moon or Steve McNair, or Steve Young, but I want a ring, and Im sure he does too. It will take a couple years, but the ring will come, and when it does, the stereotypes will fade.

Anyone who dubs Vick, Cunningham, Moon is an idiot! These QB's were very good and very dangerous, I hated playing against all of them. Again I don't care what color they are, all 3 of these QB's could and should of had a ring, and it sure wasn't because of their color. Moon can thank his defense for giving a 35 point lead away, Cunningham can thank his kicker who never missed all year except the most important kick to send them into the Super Bowl, and Vick had the Eagles looking deadly just 2 years ago.

With his personality, smarts, family background, play on the field, who is worrying about skin color? The kid is one of the most talented in all facets, black or white, and as a white man myself, I couldnt be more proud to have a man of his character, toughness, and smarts wearing our colors. He is a great yound man no matter what his race is.

People are going to compare him to other black people becuase they look alike. It is simple as that. Even though he plays more like Aaron Rodgers than any black qb I have watched. He will change a lot of peoples minds on black qb's. No big deal.

So name me a caucasian qb who is considered an all time great who never led their team to a title game, let alone win one?.

Only QB I can think of is Dan Marino, although he did reach the Superbowl as a rookie and never returned.

I mean just imagine for a second that Andrew Luck has 18 TD-4 INT. They would be calling him the greatest rookie ever and a future HoF'er.

Wow, I never thought about it like that before...and I think you're right

If Andrew had an 18/4 ratio and the #1 QB rating in the NFL, the national slobbery would be off the charts, and they'd be ready to crown him as having the ability to be one of the greatest.

Dude, this just pissed me off

I'm just flabbergasted that with all of the black QBs that have played and been successful, that any reporter would still be asking a race question, let alone 3. I could see if this was 1987, but not today. Either that reporter has an agenda or isn't bright enough to come up with football questions.

. Obama was elected president twice!!! That's a damn good sign that majority of the people in our Nation aren't racist.

I'm going to comment once because we need to keep politics out of the stadium, but your statement is a bit off. I'm hoping people voted for him because they thought he was the better choice or if they decided to vote against him because he wasn't the better choice and not for or against him because of the color of his skin. You statement makes it sound like people voted for or against based on skin color.

Whoever made that point about if Luck had Griffins numbers, he would get so much more praise... GREAT POINT.

Seriously, if Luck had 18 TDs and 4 ints, he would be getting the "greatest rookie season of all time" talk.

I agree with you, but I do not think it's because of race. I think Luck would be getting that talk because every football sportscaster in America has been conditioned to think that Andrew Luck is the greatest prospect in 30 years. I said this a week ago, but Luck was supposed to be heads and shoulders above all of his peers in the same draft class. The fact that there was another player that won the Heisman over him and could have been drafted over him is still a shock to the system to most of the talking heads out there. Because of that, they are determined to explain away Luck's interceptions (he has a bad o-line, no WR's, no running game, has to throw more, etc.) or denigrate Robert through indirect means.

To the race discussion, I think Robert handles the issue like he has done with all issues - with class and respect. I suspect he will make people of all races proud.

I agree with you, but I do not think it's because of race. I think Luck would be getting that talk because every football sportscaster in America has been conditioned to think that Andrew Luck is the greatest prospect in 30 years. I said this a week ago, but Luck was supposed to be heads and shoulders above all of his peers in the same draft class. The fact that there was another player that won the Heisman over him and could have been drafted over him is still a shock to the system to most of the talking heads out there. Because of that, they are determined to explain away Luck's interceptions (he has a bad o-line, no WR's, no running game, has to throw more, etc.) or denigrate Robert through indirect means.

To the race discussion, I think Robert handles the issue like he has done with all issues - with class and respect. I suspect he will make people of all races proud.

I partly agree, but I think race is part of the reason why Luck was annointed as the greatest prospect since Elway. He was touted as being a "pro style QB" and "NFL ready" with the ability to "read defenses" and "work through his progressions." These are code words for "white." When have you ever heard a black QB described this way? Despite his unquestionable intelligence, the prognoticators said RG3 would have trouble reading defenses and working through his progressions in the NFL. Sure, RG3 did not run a "pro-style offense" (another code for a system lead by a white QB) in college, but why would one assume that he would have trouble learning to read and make good decisions?

And to expand on a point about switching numbers, what would the experts be saying if RG3 had 18 int's, 18 TD's and a 55% completion percentage? They certainly would not be making excuses for him as they do for the guy who actually has those numbers.

I'm just flabbergasted that with all of the black QBs that have played and been successful, that any reporter would still be asking a race question, let alone 3. I could see if this was 1987, but not today. Either that reporter has an agenda or isn't bright enough to come up with football questions.

I'm going to comment once because we need to keep politics out of the stadium, but your statement is a bit off. I'm hoping people voted for him because they thought he was the better choice or if they decided to vote for him because he wasn't the better choice and not for or against him because of the color of his skin. You statement makes it sound like people voted for or against based on skin color.

Sorry for the confusion. I believe more people cast their vote for him because they thought it was best for the country. Or maybe for some the lesser of two evils. But I seriously doubt that race made a difference one way or the other.

the only part of the article that I cared about and noticed ...

The league's highest-rated passer, who has led the 7-6 Redskins into postseason contention

:helmet:

everything else is beating a

they can't put RG3 in a box, so "race baiting" questions are asked as a way to justify their ignorance. which will hopefully get him to explain/define how he can be such a "stand-up guy and great Afr. Amer. QB" without being Vick-esque or Cam-like...

Why can't he be the next Steve Young?

He will be. Or the next John Elway (winning back-to-back SB's with Shanny)

I'm just flabbergasted that with all of the black QBs that have played and been successful, that any reporter would still be asking a race question, let alone 3. I could see if this was 1987, but not today. Either that reporter has an agenda or isn't bright enough to come up with football questions.

The questions were asked by a reporter who is making a special/documentary about MLK Day. And anyway, I don't understand what's so wrong about asking a race question or three. Unless you happen to believe that racism doesn't exist anymore or should be swept under the rug. RG3, to his credit, didn't seem to skirt the questions at all. In fact, he almost seemed to relish the opportunity to answer them, and even mentioned some of the comparisons brought up in this thread (Warren Moon, etc.) as troublesome. I for one have no problem with these questions being asked, and I'm proud that the quarterback of my team could answer them so eloquently.

I got blasted for it at the time, but I stick to it firmly:

Right or wrong, race plays a role. It is a reason (not THE reason, but one of many) that I believe RG was the right man for the job in DC. It is the right fit in so many ways and one of those ways is his race...it's mostly subconscious, but I do think it plays a role.

Sports Writers cant just write about sports - players now have to be something else alltogether... its not enough this kid has busted his ass to get to where he is, now he has to fall into line of what sports writers need him to be.

I dont care if he is purple - he kicks ass and will be our QB for, hopefully, 15 or more years.

YES!!! I coach little league myself and we've won several championships with black, white and hispanic QB's. Think any of our parents or players gave a damn what color the QB was?!?! Hell no! That's the beauty of Football and sport in general. We root for the color of the uniform. Not for the color of skin. I'll be so glad when all this race crap goes bye-bye once and for all. Obama was elected president twice!!! That's a damn good sign that majority of the people in our Nation aren't racist.

He's the Redskins QB and that makes him the QB for all Redskins fans whether white, black, brown, yellow, red or whatever!

Hold on a minute there MS. What color green? Better not be philly green!

I wish this were true but it's not. All the vitriol leading up to the election should be proof enough.

That being said, I couldn't agree more with points on Luck vs Griffin. Luck has thrown so many INTs but since the record is so good (against as soft, soft schedule) he's getting so much more hype. If he was putting up numbers like Robert you wouldn't hear about another player in the league. ESPN would be all Luck all the time. It reminds me of the whole Bird vs Magic deal. Bird was a hard worker that had to work and work to get where he was while Magic just had it come naturally. Ridiculous.

Malcolm X once said "Being from America has made me intensely sensitive to matters of race" and it's true for everyone, not just black people.