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What is Wrong With Michael Irvin?

10
Vote

by user Josh Q. Public

Josh Q. Public: This is where the party ends. I can’t stand here listening to you and your racist friend.

Public Service Announcement:

OK, here we go! Goodness gracious me oh my-oh. I may be a day late and a dollar short on this one, but who cares? I may be delving into scary territory here, but so what? It’s always risky for a white dude to bring up the race card when it pertains to a black dude, but I don’t care. This nonsense was just wrong. Jimmy the Greek wrong. Not for nothing, isn’t that name politically incorrect in and of itself? The Right Reverend Reggie White wrong. Al Campanis wrong. Mel Gibson wrong. Jesse Jackson wrong. What? Think we forgot the hymietown comments? Michael Richards wrong. Ricky Manning Jr. wrong. John Rocker wrong. Bob Ryan wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong.

In case you have absolutely no idea what I’m talking about, you can listen here. If you’re at work or don’t feel like listening, let me break it down for you. Michael Irvin on the Dan Patrick radio show talking about the Cowboys win over the then undefeated Colts. Michael says Tony Romo outplayed your boy Peyton Manning. No problems there. He did. The Playmaker then says Tony Romo “doesn’t look like that type of athlete.” Uh oh. What type of athlete, Mike? Danger Will Robinson, danger! Wait for it, wait for it, boom goes the dynamite! “There must be some brothers in that line somewhere…somewhere there are some brothers…I don’t know who saw what, where…maybe his great, great, great, great Grandma ran over in the hood or something went down.” What the hell does that mean? Dan Patrick wanted to know the same thing. He asked Michael, “That’s the only way to be a great athlete?” You think this would be the part of the story where Irvin regains composure and talks some sense. Nothing doing. “No, that’s not the only way…but it’s certainly one way…maybe his great, great, great, great Grandma pulled one of them studs up outta the barn and said ‘come here for a second’…back in the day.” Yikes.

You can’t say that anymore. If you say that, you better check yourself into rehab just to save some face. And not for nothing again, but Mike sure sounded baked during the whole interview. Giggling like a schoolgirl throughout. Where’s Tom Jackson calling Mike a retard when you need him. Oooh, can I say that? Goodness. Didn’t Rush get shitcanned for talking that baloney. Isn’t Borat on the ropes for perceived racism? Aren’t Danish cartoonists everywhere hiding for their lives? To be honest, I think it’s kind of funny. What’s funnier is I never heard about it until today. I heard about Mel Gibson and Michael Richards about 8 seconds after their incidents occurred. Where’s the outcry? Believe me, I’m no political correctness policeman, but c’mon, nothing about this anywhere?

To Michael’s defense, he did apologize: “I do want to apologize for those comments. They were inappropriate and insensitive. My whole thing, what I always try to do, is give people a first-hand knowledge of what it’s like in the locker room and how we as players joke around with one another. This is how I joke around with Romo when we’re playing basketball … certainly, there’s a difference from me the player and me the broadcaster. We may joke around like that in the locker room, and I’m trying to bring them in the locker room.” I don’t know what any of that means. I do know Aaron Frickin Boone tore up his knee playing basketball. The Tuna can be none to happy. Neither can ESPN, the World Wide Leaders.

Peace out homies. Six Two and Even! josh q. public

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EnyboDiv-I Stud
1096 days ago
Score 0+-
It's amazing he still has a job.
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ASwaffAll-American
1096 days ago
Score 0+-
I honestly wasn't offended by it. I thought it was funny.
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Davis21wylieMVP
1096 days ago
Score 1+-
Seriously, though, when does Irvin not sound baked? Do we chalk this up to racism, or just to a high dude running his mouth?
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BigPPupMajor Leaguer
1096 days ago
Score 0+-
I chalk this up to Irvin being Irvin. I failed to see the racism in the comment.
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ASwaffAll-American
1096 days ago
Score 2+-
Oh, I can definitely see the racism in saying that basically the only way that Romo could be as good as he is is if he has some black in him. Insinuating that only black people are great athletes (although he said that's only ONE of the ways a person can be a great athlete. I can see the racism in that.


My problem is that we have real racism in this country, serious cases of discrimination and prejudice going on. And to focus on something like this only diverts from the issue, kind of like the Anti-Defamation League bringing a lawsuit against Sacha Baron Cohen for allegedly fomenting anti-Semitism. Or like choosing to focus so much on Michael Richards' rant. These things aren't the real problems plaguing our country, and I think we do serious social issues a real disservice when we choose to focus on some of the things we choose to focus on.

There's been more news coverage of Michael Richards' rant than of regular occurrences in this country where people are trying to prevent minorities to vote. THAT'S a real race issue. Why are we choosing to get mad about stuff like this?
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BigPPupMajor Leaguer
1096 days ago
Score 1+-
Agreed, and very well said. The reason I failed the see the racism in the comment is because I looked at the source of the comment. Much like you just said. I dont chalk a lot of validity, or a lot of attention to what a celeberty may say on a random comment. Not when i still face real racism in my everyday life.
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Anonymous Fanatic #1
1096 days ago
Score 0+-
I wouldn't be offended by what Michael Irvin said if it wasn't such a double standard. Every time a white person looks crosseyed at someone they are accused of being a racist and now Michael Irvin is allowed to make blatantly racist statements and nobody does anything. If Michael Richards is being lambasted about his racial comments Michael Irvin should have been fired last week. The crackhead A** should never have been given a place of prominence on Sportscenter when there are so many legitimate athletes out there.
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ASwaffAll-American
1096 days ago
Score 1+-
I think you just want to eliminate a double standard so obviously racist labels like "crackhead" would be okay for you to say. Michael Richards went on a four minute rant and used a racist epithet numerous times. He also made a comment about how 50 years ago, those guys would have gotten a pitchfork in their butts. His comments were not even close to Irvin's, so don't even try to compare them. It's not a double-standard, it's your inability to distinguish between real racism and a stupid comment.
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TartanVarsity Captain
1095 days ago
Score 1+-
Obviously racist statement like "crackhead". He didn't call Irvin a crackhead because he's black, Irvin is a crackhead because he's been arrested multiple times for drug possession of crack-cocaine. There is nothing racist about crackhead when used to descrive Irvin
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BigPPupMajor Leaguer
1096 days ago
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Very well said. Aswaff your quickly becoming my favorite user on this site
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BigPPupMajor Leaguer
1096 days ago
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There is a massive difference between a stupid comment, and rant. The rant that Michal Richards went on bothered and offended me because of the level of the content that he said. What I got from what he said was years of pent up frustration anger, and God knows what else. What I got from Irvin, was the same type of stupid banter that I get from when I joke with my friends while hanging out and drinking. The difference was we, know not to make those same stupid comments in public. Apparently Irivin has yet to learn that yet.
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ASwaffAll-American
1096 days ago
Score 1+-
Thanks, Pup. And you're absolutely right. In order to compare Richards' comments to Irvin's, Irvin's comment would have had to last a lot longer and be a lot more offensive. Oh, and he would have had to use racial slurs. Maybe if he'd gone on a four or five minute rant about how "cracker" quarterbacks like Romo would never compare to guys like McNabb, Vick and Vince Young. THEN you might have an argument.
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TartanVarsity Captain
1095 days ago
Score 0+-
Then how to explain Rush Limbaugh getting booted off the very same show in the near past. His comments were not raceism, only against the media. What if Steve Young had said, "This new black quarterback is making some good decisions out there, playing with his brain, he must have some white blood in him?" What do you think would have happened there. This is a ridiculous double standard
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BigPPupMajor Leaguer
1095 days ago
Score 1+-
Rush was fired on the basis of his reputation. He is not a stranger from making remarks that sharp and have aired on the raciest side before. As a result, of that he was not given much room for era. Steve Young does not have the history that Rush has and he would be granted more wiggle room. The same goes for Irvin.
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ASwaffAll-American
1095 days ago
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First of all, Rush has a history with racist statements, and he never should have been hired in the first place. He doesn't have experience with sports, and there was nothing to indicate he was more qualified for the job than anyone else.


That said, his statement was still quite different. You're ignoring the racist tone that was there. To say that people only think McNabb is great because he's black is another way of saying "why don't they focus more on the white quarterbacks?" When you say that about a position that is almost exclusively white, it takes on a terribly racist tone.

But, I agree with Pup. The main reason for his firing was probably due to his reputation. But it was still quite different from what Irvin said. As for your hypothetical statement by Steve Young, I think that people take much more offense at an entire race being called stupid than an entire race being called unathletic. Again, there's a big difference.
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ASwaffAll-American
1095 days ago
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Oh, it should also be noted that Irvin was clearly trying to make a joke. And you might think it's a bad joke, you might find it offensive, but it's not the same thing as Rush's commentary on the media's coverage of McNabb. That was a genuine complaint, not a joke.
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TartanVarsity Captain
1095 days ago
Score 1+-
And Rush said that McNabb got too much credit for Philly's success that was more due to the defense because the media wants a black quarterback to succeed, at least that is an arguement instead of saying someone's ancestors ran in the "hood" or opened up the barn and had sex with "one of them big studs". That is an absolutely absurd statement.
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TartanVarsity Captain
1095 days ago
Score 1+-
And no there isn't a big difference between an entire race being called stupid and an entire race being called unathletic, especially when spoken about in the sporting world. Both are stereotypes, and Irvin should be punish accordingly.
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ASwaffAll-American
1095 days ago
Score 0+-
Both are stereotypes, so they're necessarily equal? How about this - Asians are extremely good at math. Black people are stupid and lazy. Are those stereotypes equal?
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TartanVarsity Captain
1095 days ago
Score 0+-
No those aren't the same because one is a positive stereotype and one is a negative stereotype. However, saying black quarterbacks are more athletic and white quarterbacks are more intelligent is for the most part positively stereotyping both, and then using interracial breeding as an explanation for something that doesn't fit the stereotype; you can't be defending this as a joke.
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ASwaffAll-American
1095 days ago
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And yet, here I am defending it as a joke. And I can't believe that someone who defends Rush Limbaugh is honestly going to rip Michael Irvin for being racist. Don't you ever find it curious that white people who have a past of saying racist things are the only ones that ever have complaints about a double standard?
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TartanVarsity Captain
1095 days ago
Score 0+-
I wasn't defending Rush Limbaugh. He should have been fired and was fired. Michael Irvin is also racist, and it seems odd that he retains his position, even after other firings.
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TartanVarsity Captain
1095 days ago
Score 0+-
Whether a joke or not is regardless to the comment that was made. Baseball commentators get fired for making supposedly derogatory comments about Latin Americans. However, when a minority (every race is actually) makes a racial comment against whites, nothing is said or done, and its passed off as a joke. Irvin has a history of racial beliefs as well, just not as a public one as Rush, and the fact remains, if Steve Young would have made the above comment, he would have been kicked off the air during the next commercial break. There isn't wiggle room for stupidity, regardless of who you are, and there certainly isn't room for it on national television.
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ASwaffAll-American
1095 days ago
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What commentators were fired for making derogatory remarks about Latin American baseball players? I only know of one that was caught doing it, and he was fired for calling them "brain-dead Caribbean hitters." And he wasn't fired immediately, he was only fired after Felipe Alou heard about the comments and complained about them. It doesn't happen as fast as you'd like to think it does.


And again, there's a huge difference between characterizing an entire race as stupid and characterizing an entire race as unathletic. And people get away with derogatory comments quite often. Remember the rant earlier this year by Keith Hernandez, when he said women don't belong in the dugout, period? He wasn't fired. It's not hypocrisy, it's a clear understanding that not all derogatory statements are equal. Making a joke about Romo having some black in him allowing him to be a better athlete isn't the same as calling an entire race "brain dead." Are you really having trouble telling the difference?
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TartanVarsity Captain
1095 days ago
Score 0+-
You must be kidding. The Steve Lyons firing was barely a month ago, "I still can't find my wallet, I don't understand him, and I don't even want to sit close to him now" was construed as derogatory against Latin Americans. Gimme a break, people get canned all the time. No, making a joke about someone having black in them making him run faster is the same as making a joke about someone having white in them making them smarter, when speaking about quarterbacks. What if a commentator said a player renegotiating his contarct had some Jewish in him because he is squeezing every dime out of the owner. C'mon, you can't be defending this position. Joke or not, people can't say those things on national television
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ASwaffAll-American
1095 days ago
Score 1+-
But again, there's a difference between calling an entire race unathletic and calling an entire race stupid. I'm not trying to pardon racial slurs, just trying to point out that there are degrees here. Not all stereotypes are equal.
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TartanVarsity Captain
1095 days ago
Score 0+-
So you're placing more of a value on brains over braun in the sporting world? Take it in the context of what he's talking about. Calling a white professional athlete unathletic is the same as calling a black doctor unintelligent, if we're comparing stereotypes here. And yes, both are awful, possibly career ending, and completely incorrect. If the person had made it to that level, they're obviously well-qualified, whether that be an NFL player or an M.D. There are levels to stereotyping, and Michael Richards should not have even been brought up in the conversation, but if any other analyst on ESPN or FOX makes this statement or something similar, they are fired before the show is over.
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ASwaffAll-American
1095 days ago
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WRONG. Again, you have no precedent for saying that they'd be fired that quickly.
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TartanVarsity Captain
1095 days ago
Score 0+-
Steve Lyons was fired that quickly. Rush Limbaugh was fired/"resigned" that quickly. Howard Cosell in the mid 80s on Monday night football. Others who's names slip my mind have been canned for racial insensitive remarks. Very selective memory
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ASwaffAll-American
1095 days ago
Score 0+-
My memory isn't selective. You're saying these guys would be fired in the middle of broadcasts. You're saying they would be fired before the show was over. None of those guys were fired that quickly.
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BigPPupMajor Leaguer
1095 days ago
Score 1+-
Michal Richards, Howard Cossell, and Rush Limbaugh all used terms and touched on termonalogy and themese that were used to systemataclly oppress a race of people in the United States for centuries.

Michial Irvin touched on a bad joke that has been around for decades.

Not trying to make different catagories of racism, but there is a definite difference between the above stated instances.
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TartanVarsity Captain
1095 days ago
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It is only appeared that way because of the opposite directions the comment traveled. Why is judging one race based on the color of their skin bad, while judging another race is okay? And what no Steve Lyons explanation, that sets far enough precedence to dismiss Irvin. ESPN has very odd hiring/firing practices, but at least they could get something right.
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ASwaffAll-American
1095 days ago
Score 0+-
No, it wasn't because it was "going the other direction." It's because there is a vast difference between that they said. There's a big difference between jokingly saying that Romo's ancestors must have slept with some blacks, and viciously saying that McNabb is only popular because he's black, and that's he's not actually that good. How on earth can you not tell the difference between Limbaugh's statements and Irvin's? Between Richards' statements, and Lyon's statements, and Irvins? Irvin didn't use a negative racial stereotype, he didn't attack or criticize anyone, and he didn't use any slurs. How can you not distinguish between a bad joke and the things those other guys did?
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ASwaffAll-American
1095 days ago
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I'm sorry, but to come to the conclusions you're coming to, Tartan, you have to want to see it. I mean you have to really, REALLY want it. The comparisons you're making don't add up.
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TartanVarsity Captain
1095 days ago
Score 0+-
Therein lies the point. Maybe you didn't find it racially insensitive, but I did. The man and if enough sports fans were offended by it, that should be enough to warrant dismissal. I'm not looking for anything, I took what he said as an insult from a superbly skilled african-american athlete to every white athlete trying to compete, and that is the way I saw it. Q public saw it the same way, Aswaff and BigPPup didn't. Why defend someone that offends 50% of this population, just because you yourself weren't offended?
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BigPPupMajor Leaguer
1095 days ago
Score 0+-
Not going to lie I dont remember the Steve Lyons situation off the top of my head at all. As far as ESPN hiring and firing, there are a ton of rules and regulations that that company goes by that make no sense at all and they have nothing to do with race or any of that.
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TartanVarsity Captain
1095 days ago
Score -1+-
Basically Lou Pinella likened I forget whom going 3-4 like finding a wallet, and you can't expect it to happen everyday, then said some phrases in spanish. Lyons repsonded with "I don't know what he's saying, I still can't find my wallet, and I don't want to sit close to him right now." He was promptly released by FOX for his comments. That was overboard, but it sets the line at FOX that isn't commentators can't just speak whatever they want regarding race.

This isn't the first time Irvin has messed up. Multiple cocaine related arrests during his tenure at ESPN followed by racially insensitive remarks regarding the maternal heritage of Tony Romo, that is certainly enough to fire someone. Cosell was a broadcasting God, and a comment he had been using for 15 years did him in. Irvin has no such clout, and maintains his employment at ESPN only because he is great at getting the interviews that the network might not necessarily get otherwise. In general, I am not in favor of athletes as broadcasters, they have conflicts of opinions, and usually find no fault in the what the athletes do on and off the field, and Irvin is an exact example of that. He should have been let go long ago, and things like this will continue to tarnish ESPN because they will continue to happen. They need to find another personality that can land the high-profile interviews with skill position players, can't wait till Tory Holt retires.

http://www.a..._Steve_Lyons
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ASwaffAll-American
1095 days ago
Score 0+-
He hasn't had cocaine arrests during his time at ESPN. You need to get your facts straight. He had numerous drug arrests during his time with the Cowboys, and he was arrested once in 2000 for felony cocaine possession, and charges were later dropped. That's before ESPN hired him. Since his time at ESPN, he's been arrested ONCE for MISDEMEANOR DRUG PARAPHERNALIA POSSESSION during his time with ESPN. He claimed it was his friends, and nothing ever came of the charges.


But he hasn't been arrested for cocaine possession during his time with ESPN, let alone getting busted numerous times. You need to get your facts straight before you start making accusations like that and go around calling people crack heads.
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ASwaffAll-American
1095 days ago
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Sorry, I had a link for that, too: http://sport...y?id=2238758


Seriously, rethink the accusations you're throwing out here. Your statements border on libel.
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FranklinNobleSoccer Kid
1095 days ago
Score 0+-
This article would be a lot easier to read with a few paragraph breaks.
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BigPPupMajor Leaguer
1095 days ago
Score 1+-
Thanks ASwaff, I saw that Irvin accusation, but couldnt get away from my desk at work fast enough to dispute it.

Irvin has had 1 run in with the law since joining ESPN, and that charge was possesion of drug paraphanelia. Thats a far cry from being arrested for coccaine.

Also just because you have had a drug problem in your pass does not mean your a raciest. I personally know drug addicts who are some of the nicest people in the world.

Oh and didnt your boy Rush get busted for his painkiller rehab stint not long after his ESPN tenure?
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Josh Q. PublicVarsity
1095 days ago
Score 0+-
Listen, what Jimmy the Greek said was awfully dern close to what Michael said. I'm not out for Michael's head. But, the statement was clearly a racist statement. No way around it.
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TartanVarsity Captain
1095 days ago
Score 0+-
He isn't my boy Rush, I only used him as an example for sports anchors getting fired for seemingly racist comments. And I was not linking racism to drug possession. Being caught with a crack pipe, along with bags with marijuana residue on him surely is indication of some sort of problem in his life. Sorry, multiple cocaine arrests before his time at ESPN; 1996 then 2 months after he got off probation in 2001, then he got hired by the world wide leader, not to mention sexual assault allegations thrown in the mix. The man is far from upstanding. And there is no way around his blatant racist comment. My point is that it is very racially insensitive to say something like that on national television, and the precendent is there to dismiss him very quickly, and if any other anchor would have said that, they would not remain on the show.
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