Donovan McNabb: Why He Shouldn't Respond to Criticism from Bernard Hopkins

Has any other top quarterback faced as much adversity in their career as Donavon McNabb?  After racking my sports brain, the only quarterback I could think of that might possibly compare would be Terry Bradshaw.  McNabb has led his teams to five NFC championships and a Superbowl appearance.  During his professional career, McNabb has consistently carried himself on and off the field with honor and grace.

I remember in 1994, turning on ESPN one Saturday night hoping to catch a decent football game.  There was a quarterback from Syracuse who would scramble around making the entire opposing team miss and suddenly, out of nowhere, launch a missile fifty yards downfield to Kevin Johnson.  His name was Donavon McNabb and he was a one-man show.  I started following McNabb’s career and caught every Orangemen football game that I could over the next four years.  I was never disappointed. 

McNabb’s first controversial moment would be on draft day when he was roundly booed by a raucous contingent of Philadelphia Eagle fans that wanted the Eagles to draft Ricky Williams.  You almost wish Eagle fans had gotten the enigmatic Williams instead of McNabb.  Philadelphia fans have never appreciated the professionalism, not to mention the consistent winning that McNabb brought to the Eagle franchise.  On a side note, teams selected Tim Couch (No. 1 pick), Akili Smith, and Cade McNown to be franchise quarterbacks in the same draft.  Digest that nugget Philly fans.

In 2002, McNabb was sacked on the third play during the Arizona game and was taken to the locker room to tape up what was thought to be a sprained ankle.  It was later found out that McNabb played a stellar second half with a fibula broken in three places.  The guy has heart.

ESPN decided to hire conservative blowhard Rush Limbaugh in 2003 and asked him to masquerade as a commentator.  Rush provided this brilliant analysis on Sunday’s NFL Countdown, "I think what we’ve had here is a little social concern in the NFL.  The media has been very desirous that a black quarterback do well".  Rush promptly resigned from ESPN and was lucky he didn't get a cross body block from ESPN analyst Tom Jackson.  McNabb showed his usual tact and didn’t comment.

After saying McNabb was his guy, Eagle’s head coach Andy Reid slapped McNabb in the face by trading him to rival Washington in 2010.  Then Reid handed over the starting QB spot to the unproven Kevin Kolb.  Kolb was knocked out with a concussion after playing poorly, which led to Michael Vick taking over as QB and advancing the Eagles to the playoffs while having an MVP type season.  Ironically, McNabb convinced a skeptical Eagle front office to sign Vick. 

After struggling with the Redskins, McNabb was benched for Rex Grossman as Coach Shanahan explained that McNabb lacked “cardiovascular endurance” and questioned whether McNabb had a grasp of the offense.  McNabb showed his true mettle by not complaining and even remaining a team captain.

Bernard Hopkins has made statements recently that questioned Donovan McNabb’s blackness.  In a recent press conference Hopkins issued the following, "Forget this," Hopkins said, pointing to his own dark skin. "He's got a suntan. That's all."

Hopkins continues, "Why do you think McNabb felt he was betrayed?  Because McNabb is the guy in the house, while everybody else is on the field.  He's the one who got the extra coat.  The extra servings.  'You're our boy,'" Hopkins said, patting a reporter on the back in illustration. "He thought he was one of them."

Maybe Hopkins saw the Fab Five documentary where Jalen Rose labeled Duke’s Grant Hill and other black Duke players as Uncle Toms.  Apparently if you have two parents, which McNabb does, get educated (McNabb has a degree from Syracuse), grow up in a middle class neighborhood and work hard enough to become a professional athlete that equates you to being an Uncle Tom.  I wonder if Hopkins thinks Michael Jordan is an Uncle Tom since that description would fit His Airness.

At the crux of Hopkins’ argument, which he wasn’t articulate enough to form, was that since McNabb doesn’t stand up to white guys like Reid, Shanahan and also idiots like himself, he’s a sell out, while people like himself and Terrell Owens are real men because they speak their minds.  Many media types have recently come out in support, not of Hopkins’ statements, but in agreement that McNabb should speak up for himself. I disagree.

To show the hypocrisy of this statement, just look at the Jorge Posada development with the Yankees.  Posada has been a stellar Yankee and good soldier for nineteen years, but asked out of a game after being demoted to ninth in the lineup. The same media types that criticize McNabb for not speaking up for himself are now of the opinion that Posada should have put the team first and was selfish to ask out of the game.  This goes to my point that McNabb is damned if he does speak up and damned if he doesn’t. McNabb, whenever he retires, can look back at his career with satisfaction knowing that he never lost his values.

In a bizarre final twist, Rush Limbaugh came to the defense of McNabb on his conservative radio show stating, “This is just the latest in what has been a long line of attacks on Donovan McNabb from black individuals and organizations.” To me this might be the worst slight McNabb has faced so far.  McNabb deserves better than a charlatan like Rush defending him, so I will go on record by stating that if my son grows up to have the self respect and poise that Donavon McNabb has shown under extreme adversity throughout his career, I will be immensely proud of the man has become. 

Sportswriters in the future will debate whether McNabb’s on-field performance warrants him to be in the NFL Hall of Fame but, in my eyes, McNabb will always be a Hall of Famer off the field and someone we should applaud instead of criticize.