Donovan McNabb Isn't Getting the "Brotherly Love" He Deserves in Washington

With 1:45 remaining in the fourth quarter, Washington Redskins head coach Mike Shanahan pulled Donovan McNabb from the game against the Detroit Lions this past Sunday.

Shanahan yanked McNabb in favor of journeyman backup Rex Grossman. 

When Grossman entered the game on the first play of the drive, he was sacked. The ball was picked up by Ndamukong Suh, and he ran it in for a touchdown, thereby sealing a 37-25 victory for the Lions.

Shanahan stated after the game that Grossman had a “better grasp of the two-minute offense” than McNabb. He also suggested Grossman gave his team the “best chance to win.”

There is more.

Yesterday Shanahan added salt to the wounds of McNabb by suggesting he didn’t have “the cardiovascular endurance” to run the two-minute offense, thus standing by his comments of Grossman giving the Redskins a better chance to win.

Please.

Grossman couldn’t lead the Redskin offense out of the huddle, let alone to a victory.

McNabb wasn’t shown “brotherly love” in Philadelphia, nor is he getting the respect he deserves in the nation's capital.

To me Shanahan’s comments were insensitive and reek with racial undertones. He is suggesting McNabb doesn’t have the intellectual capacity to run the two-minute offense, nor does he have the physical ability to perform at crunch time. What is even more appalling is Shanahan’s comments are not being condemned in the mass media.

Don’t give me this garbage about what Shanahan meant to say either. He said what he said, and it was very embarrassing to McNabb whether he will admit it publicly or not.

Listening to Shanahan’s words took me back to a time where African-American quarterbacks were not getting opportunities because of racism.

In 1968 Marlin Briscoe was the first African-American to start a regular season game. Briscoe quarterbacked the Denver Broncos only after all the starters got hurt. Briscoe was later traded to the Dolphins and was converted to wide receiver. He was a major contributor in the Dolphins winning the Super Bowl in 1972 and going undefeated.

In 1974 Joe “Jefferson Street” Gilliam was the starter for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He outplayed the erratic Terry Bradshaw in the preseason and was named the starter. Gillian led the Steelers to a 4-1-1 record before the fans clamored for his removal.

A sulking Bradshaw was handed his job back. He went on to win the first of his four Super Bowls by stuffing the ball in Franco Harris’s gut and throwing darts to Lynn Swann and John Stallworth for touchdowns. Had it not been for racism, it should have been Gilliam.

Warren Moon led the Washington Huskies to the Rose Bowl in 1978. No NFL team drafted Moon partly because of the negative stereotypes surrounding the African-American quarterback.

Moon took his talents across the border to Canada until 1984, when the Houston Oilers gave him a shot. Now Moon has his bust in the Hall of Fame because of his combination of persistence and talent.

Doug Williams was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1978. He led the Buccaneers to the playoffs three of his first four years with the team. In 1979 he led them to the NFC Championship Game. 

After the 1982 season Williams left. He was earning $120,000 a season. That was the lowest salary of any starter in the NFL. Even 12 backups made more money than Williams. He bolted for the USFL’s Oklahoma Outlaws from 1984-1985.

In 1986 the only NFL team that called Williams was Joe Gibbs' Washington Redskins. Gibbs signed him as a backup, yet Williams ended up leading the Redskins to a Super Bowl victory over the Denver Broncos in 1988. He became the first African-American quarterback to win the Super Bowl.

Due to the persistence of the latter African-American quarterbacks, opportunities opened up in the future. There have been other notable African-American quarterbacks over the last two decades, like Randall Cunningham, Steve McNair, Michael Vick, Vince Young and Donovan McNabb.

Yes, Mike Shanahan—Donovan McNabb.

McNabb doesn’t give the Redskins the best chance to win running the two-minute drill?

Last time I checked he and Tom Brady have 24 fourth quarterback comebacks to their credit. Last time I checked McNabb played in five NFC Championship Games and played in a Super Bowl.

Last time I checked McNabb has a career passer rating of 86.2 while passing for over 35,000 yards to go with 222 touchdowns against 106 interceptions in 11 seasons.

Now let’s look at Shanahan’s “Great White Hope” Rex Grossman and see what he’s done compared to McNabb. 

Entering his eighth season, Grossman has a career passer rating of 69.5. He has passed for 6,197 yards with 33 touchdowns against 35 interceptions.

Grossman led the Chicago Bears to the NFC Championship and Super Bowl in 2006. He has five fourth quarter comebacks and seven game-winning drives in his career.

Based on the facts, how can Shanahan suggest Grossman gave the Redskins the best chance to win with 1:45 to play against the Detroit Lions on Sunday?

McNabb has been disrespected in this league from day one. He was booed by Philadelphia Eagles fans in 1999 on draft day. He was ridiculed for his performance in the Super Bowl in 2004.

McNabb was at the center of controversy when conservative Russ Limbaugh made racial comments about his performance in 2004.

Head coach Andy Reid benched McNabb in favor of another “Great White Hope” in Kevin Kolb in 2008. We all know McNabb was stabbed in the back by the Eagles last season. He was praised in public, yet behind closed doors the team knew they were trading him.

Now McNabb is subject to idiotic statements from Shanahan?

Obviously Shanahan has a problem with African-American stars. Look how he has treated Albert Haynesworth this season. He publicly embarrassed Haynesworth so much that he proclaimed he is not a “slave” to anyone just because he makes a lot of money.

Maybe it is time for McNabb to stop being so diplomatic and status quo and speak his mind. If he doesn’t, he will never get the “brotherly love” he deserves in the nation's capital.

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