Race, RG3, Parker & Me
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By DERON SNYDER
I was driving my youngest daughter to school Thursday when a text message appeared on my cell phone: “Sup Deron. Wats ur take on RF3 (sic). Real Brutha or a cornball who don’t wanna b a Bruhtha.” It was from a friend, ESPN commentator Rob Parker.
Not wanting to text and drive, I didn’t answer right away and actually forgot about it. But Parker called after I returned home and we chatted about the subject for 10 minutes before he had to leave. “I’m about to go on,” he said.
Moments later, he was on “First Take,” questioning an athlete’s blackness with references to a white fiancée and Republican leanings. The controversial segment outraged viewers, blew up cyberspace and earned him a suspension – with the threat of more severe consequences looming.
I imagine this is what it feels when you’re the last person to speak to someone before he or she harms themself. You wonder if your conversation was a contributing factor. You wonder if you should have done anything differently. You wonder if you could have said something to steer him in the opposite direction.
