What the heck did Michael Irvin say now???

[Future]

Borat makes fun of a whole multitude of people.

I have heard some grumblings but nothing major....

- Mike G.

Saw Borat...

It seems to pick on white americans more than anything else IMO.

pretty funny though

 

[iceberg]

I was able to tear myself away from my Wall Street Journal at the country club to read this post. And I think it's dynamite!

By the way - Borat is currently in theaters.

DY-NO-MITE!!!!! : )

yea, blockbuster said "go away for awhile" so i figured it out. i did buy superman returns yesterday and he shoulda stayed gone.

 

[iceberg]

Saw Borat...

It seems to pick on white americans more than anything else IMO.

pretty funny though

good. there are times the average white american needs picked on. collectively we do some stupid stuff.

 

[superpunk]

DY-NO-MITE!!!!! : )

yea, blockbuster said "go away for awhile" so i figured it out. i did buy superman returns yesterday and he shoulda stayed gone.

co-signed. I just HAD to see that in theatre, even though everyone was telling me it sucked.

I felt nearly as empty inside as I did after the incredible Hulk piece of crap.

 

[Chuck 54]

As a high school teacher, I was very happy to see Jessie Jackson come out with serious comments on this issue last week.

I know...Jessie Jackson is over-the-hill and has outlived his usefulness and public effectiveness, but this time I thought he was "right on."

He was not happy with Michael Richards' comments, but he and others are finally making a call to everyone to stop using "hate" words in rap music or in everyday conversation. In my reading classes, we read a great many works geared towards inner city kids' interests and most of them deal with race relations...like the novella, The Friendship, which won the Corretta Scott King Award. I am constantly trying to get black kids to understand what's wrong with using the word "******" (apparently the filter delted my use of the "N" word) to refer to their friends in a joking manner or as a term of endearment.

It's not that white kids are stupid enough to think that makes it okay for them to use the word...it's that it shows a lack of respect for their own parents, grandparents, and preceding generations who dealt with racism and hatred on a more personal level than most of them have to deal with today. Older African Americans often still cringe when they hear the word, even when it comes out of the mouths of their own children.

Jessie Jackson was calling for a halt to its use in all arenas because of the message it sends to all races that "hate" language is sometimes okay depending on the context and situation.

I find that it's primarily a lack of understanding and education on the part of the younger generation of the depths of prejudice and hatred associated with such "joking" language.

We shouldn't have to listen to anyone make excuses for their lapses in judgement, trying to use the fact that they hear it in other situations...it's ridiculous. I agree with Jessie Jackson that it shouldn't be used by anyone at any time...then when someone's inner hatred spews out, it will be evident to everyone that there's a serious problem.

Irvin meant nothing by his comments; however, Michael Richards' comments were what was inside him...squeeze an orange, you get OJ...break open a coconut, you get milk...squeeze a person into a pressured situation, you're likely to get what's really on the inside, despite their protests to the contrary.

However, Irvin's comments do derive from the idea that blacks are genetically better athletes, better at running and jumping (though the Olympics seem to contradict this in most other countries)...and that notion, while Irvin and many other athletes will joke about it in a locker room setting, also fosters the prejudicial and ignorant idea that blacks should work hard at sports instead of academics because that's what they are better at and more suited for.

Yes, in many ways it's making a mountain out of a mole hill, but as someone who's taught in a public high school for 26 years, I can tell you that the reality of allowing this type of thing to be swept under the rug or allowing such terms as "******" to be used with impunity and acceptance when it's in a joking manner by blacks only hurts children of both races in their development as adults who will hopefully be less prejudiced and more accepting of diversity than previous generations.

 

[sjordan6]

The problem with threads like these is it calls for opinions that go beyond the realm of sports. This same thread was started a couple of days ago and had to be deleted by the moderator because of how heated it was getting.

I am a black man and I still believe that it was in poor taste for Micheal to go there. It was beyond irresponsible no matter if he was joking or not and he is very lucky he still has a job.

I would prefer if the zone stay with the facts and opinions of the game and leave the "other stuff" to the talk shows. He has already apologize for it so PLEASE let's move on.

And to the guy who started this thread by asking "what did he say"...there is a thing called google and yahoo. Introduce yourself!

 

[ElPanadero]

I still don't know what it is that Irvin said exactly. But if he did say what I quoted in my original post then it was funny. Especially since Michael Irvin has a way of laughing about it when he says something he thinks is a joke.

However, the radio jockeys were insisting that they wouldn't let the issue drop until Irvin was fired by ESPN. They brought up the fact that Jimmy "The Greek" and Howard Cosell were fired due to similar comments. They also brought up the comments made by the SEINFIELD star that played KRAMER and the mess he was in for making what people think were racial comments (I don't know...I haven't heard the full story on that either).

The point they are trying to make (they came out and said-so themselves) is that we as a society are more tolerant when an African-American makes racial comments, then we are when a white person makes those same comments.

My take on the whole issue is that the comment was funny. Racism, of course, is not. I don't think he was being racist though. Irvin was trying to get a laugh. I am a fan of Michael Ivin's ability as a sports commentator.

I think that the radio jockeys, Al, Jesse and Quanel X cause more problems then they actually solve.

But hey...what do I know??? I'm just a die-hard Cowboy fan, happy to have Tony Romo as the Dallas Cowboy quarterback. I could care less what nationality he is. To quote an NFL owner on the west coast...JUST WIN BABY!

 

[ElPanadero]

The problem with threads like these is it calls for opinions that go beyond the realm of sports. This same thread was started a couple of days ago and had to be deleted by the moderator because of how heated it was getting.

I am a black man and I still believe that it was in poor taste for Micheal to go there. It was beyond irresponsible no matter if he was joking or not and he is very lucky he still has a job.

I would prefer if the zone stay with the facts and opinions of the game and leave the "other stuff" to the talk shows. He has already apologize for it so PLEASE let's move on.

And to the guy who started this thread by asking "what did he say"...there is a thing called google and yahoo. Introduce yourself!

Get off your high-horse, sjordan. Not everyone is as smart as you obviously are. I enjoy reading the opinions of posters on this forum regarding the game AND the sports figures that comment on the game.

 

[iceberg]

The problem with threads like these is it calls for opinions that go beyond the realm of sports. This same thread was started a couple of days ago and had to be deleted by the moderator because of how heated it was getting.

I am a black man and I still believe that it was in poor taste for Micheal to go there. It was beyond irresponsible no matter if he was joking or not and he is very lucky he still has a job.

I would prefer if the zone stay with the facts and opinions of the game and leave the "other stuff" to the talk shows. He has already apologize for it so PLEASE let's move on.

And to the guy who started this thread by asking "what did he say"...there is a thing called google and yahoo. Introduce yourself!

but "the zone" isn't just about *your* preferences, sjordan. it's about a collective group that the larger it gets the harder it is to maintain "civility". that's simply a reflection of life, not a one-off of it. what you're saying to me typifies the root of the problem.

"you don't think like me - you need to change". the fact is we don't think alike and that's the first thing we need to accept and understand, not force to change for YOUR "common good".

do i agree with what irvin said? to be honest till someone pointed it out and THEN explained it, i had no idea what a "buck in the woodshed" meant and didn't care. my level of apathy didn't rise a bit with my ensuing education.

THIS to me is what we need to STOP being so sensitive about. races are different. they have different traits, personalities, advantages and disadvantages. again, a fact of life you can try to genersize away but not all of us want to do that.

i appreciate and respect the differences and acknowledge they're there. this does not mean you can go out and be racist but is also DOES NOT MEAN if you notice someone is black, you're a racist also.

someone making a racist "joke" maybe should see "joke" first and racism later on down the road, if at all. people have gone too far in defining what can and can't be funny which in turn has an automatic "penalty" that assumes the mindset of the person telling the joke and that's just as wrong to me.

everyone needs to lighten up, laugh, and find something more important in life to talk about.

 

[Maikeru-sama]

Saw Borat...

It seems to pick on white americans more than anything else IMO.

pretty funny though

Actually I think Jews took the brunt but that is just an opinion..

 

[NIBGoldenchild]

Wayne Motley, that was the best post I've read in a long time. Props to you.

 

[BrAinPaiNt]

Actually I think Jews took the brunt but that is just an opinion..

He is Jewish.

Not sure if you know that or not.

He does those types of jewish jokes and skits to see if people will agree with him or go along with him. They normally are told that the show will only be shown in Kazachstan (sp?) and not in america so some go along and say some things about jews.

He does this as a joke and to make the racist look like idiots by exposing them and so on.

One of his more popular skits from his show was when he went into a country bar and started singing a song called "Throw the jew in the well" in which he was saying bad things about jews.

It was not too long till the majority of the crowd in the bar was singing along with him.

When in character he says these kinds of things to see if the person he is talking with will do the same.

Just wanted you to know that he is actually jewish as there are probably quite a few people that don't know.

 

[Maikeru-sama]

He is Jewish.

Not sure if you know that or not.

He does those types of jewish jokes and skits to see if people will agree with him or go along with him. They normally are told that the show will only be shown in Kazachstan (sp?) and not in america so some go along and say some things about jews.

He does this as a joke and to make the racist look like idiots by exposing them and so on.

One of his more popular skits from his show was when he went into a country bar and started singing a song called "Throw the jew in the well" in which he was saying bad things about jews.

It was not too long till the majority of the crowd in the bar was singing along with him.

When in character he says these kinds of things to see if the person he is talking with will do the same.

Just wanted you to know that he is actually jewish as there are probably quite a few people that don't know.

Yeah I know he is Jewish.

I think that is why he gets a pass as with Blacks talking about Blacks, Whites talking about Whites, Hispanics talking about Hispanics etc etc.

- Mike G.

 

[BrAinPaiNt]

Yeah I know he is Jewish.

I think that is why he gets a pass as with Blacks talking about Blacks, Whites talking about Whites, Hispanics talking about Hispanics etc etc.

- Mike G.

Probably...but I think he does it for a different reason.

He only does it in that character and it is to show the ignorance and stupidity of others.

I don't think that is the main or even secondary focus in most of the same race on race slurs in songs or movies.

 

[bbgun]

November 28, 2006

Race has no place in Irvin's analysis


Why is Michael Irvin still employed?

And why am I typing that sentence?

If you haven't heard, you're not alone. Many in my business, people who pride themselves on knowing all and being, you know, know-it-alls, still haven't heard.

So let me bring you up to speed.

Eight days ago -- yes, eight days -- Michael Irvin joined fellow ESPN employee Dan Patrick on Patrick's national radio show.

Irvin is supposed to be ESPN's version of a football analyst, but he is really a lit match they hold in their hand, waiting to see how low he can go before singeing their fingers.

On Patrick's radio show, the topic turned to Dallas quarterback Tony Romo, and Irvin, a former Cowboy star, offered the type of racially incendiary remarks you'd think would start a firestorm of outrage.

It didn't.

Opining on Romo's athleticism and how, the day before, Romo outplayed Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning, Irvin said this:

"He doesn't look like he's that type of an athlete, but he is. He is, man."

And here's why.

"Somewhere there are some brothers in that line," Irvin added. "I don't know who saw what, where. His great, great, great, great grandma ran over in the 'hood, or something went down."

Through all this, while saying that the reason behind Romo's athleticism is because there must be African blood in his lineage, Irvin is laughing. He thinks this is funny.

Patrick cut in, "That's the only way to be a great athlete?"

"No," Irvin replied, "that's not the only way. But it's certainly one way. Great, great, great, great grandma pulled one of them studs up outta the barn. 'Come here for a second.' You know, they go out and work in the yard. You know, back in the day. Something like that."

Eight days ago.

On a national radio show.

Raise your hand if this is the first you've heard of it.

Raise your hand even higher if you think there's a double-standard here.

If a white analyst would have uttered this kind of racial rubbish, it goes without saying that he'd be fired by now. Still, we'll say it anyway. If a white analyst uttered this kind of racial rubbish, he'd be fired by now.

So why is Michael Irvin still employed?

The social landscape is littered with white commentators who have been handed pink slips for what they've said regarding race. But how many blacks?

You might be thinking about one white analyst in particular: Jimmy "The Greek" Snyder. It was almost 19 years ago that CBS fired "The Greek" for offering the opinion that black athleticism is a byproduct of selective slave breeding.

Sound familiar? Sound a little like Michael Irvin? So where's the outrage now?

And while we're at it, where is ESPN when it's time to report on itself? Isn't this the type of junk food its TV shows like "Around The Horn" and "PTI" feed off?

Wilbon, is there a double-standard here?

Good luck trying to find the story about Irvin's remarks on any of ESPN's various and sundry networks, or on its Web site. Its national online columnists have yet to weigh in, and it's doubtful they ever will. After all, didn't ESPN sack columnist Jason Whitlock earlier this year after he was critical in an interview of another ESPN employee, Mike Lupica?

Little by little, ESPN has cherry-picked our newspapers and cornered the market on some of sports journalism's best and brightest voices.

Eight days later, those voices remain mute.

And what of the rest of the country, and the mainstream media? Well, they've obviously been infatuated with another Michael, Michael Richards, and the comic's recent raging racial rant at a comedy club. Richards, Seinfeld's wacky neighbor Kramer, is white. Thus, he's been busy making the mea culpa rounds with all sorts of news outlets, including Sunday on Jesse Jackson's syndicated radio show.

Jackson called Richards' rant a "hate speech," while Al Sharpton clamored on various news shows, demanding an apology.

Eight days later, and neither Jackson nor Sharpton has said a peep about what Irvin insinuated.

As for Richards, he is beginning psychiatric counseling.

Meanwhile, the other Michael, Irvin, is still performing his normal analyst duties for ESPN, pausing just long enough Sunday to offer a half-baked apology via USA Today.

"It's clear I was joking around," Irvin said, adding, "I need to learn how to better draw the line between bringing people into the locker room and the boundaries I should not go past as a broadcaster."

In other words, he needs to learn better how to edit and mute how he really feels about race. And he is also saying, by implying that this is locker-room talk, that he isn't the only African-American who harbors these views.

ESPN had to know this is what it was getting when it ignored Irvin's cocaine-dusted résumé and hired him anyway. The self-proclaimed Worldwide Leader in Sports hired the Worldwide Leader in Snorts.

And we're surprised at the outcome?

ESPN likes the edge Michael Irvin brings, even when he goes over the edge. He is the class clown, court jester, village idiot, moron with a microphone.

And, like it or not, he is still employed.

 

[ROMOSAPIEN9]

I still like this new smiley...

:damn: