The National Football League is a storm of controversy these days. Nike's advertising campaign highlighting former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick stole headlines last week just as the national anthem protests seemed to be fading away. Still, the league is a hub for racial stereotypes, and yet another has been brought to the light once again.
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Onalaska ISD Superintendent Lynn Redden thought he was responding to a private message on his personal Facebook page after watching the Houston Texans and quarterback Deshaun Watson lose 20-17 to the Tennessee Titans. What he actually did was post to a public news outlets' Facebook page for the world to see.
Onalasaka school district is about 100 miles north of Houston, Texas and supports a little over 1,000 students. After watching the end of the Texans-Titans game, Redden, the school's superintendent, accidentally posted this remark to the Houston Chronicle's Facebook page:
"That may have been the most inept quarterback decision I've seen in the NFL. When you need precision decision making you can't count on a black quarterback."
Upon realizing it was a public page, Redden quickly deleted the Facebook post.
"I totally regret it," Redden said in an interview with Chron.com.
Still not backing down from his blatantly racist comment, Redden later said in the interview about the statistical successes of black quarterbacks, "Over the history of the NFL, they have had limited success."
What?
Tell that to Doug Williams, who was the MVP of Super Bowl XXII with the Washington Redskins. Maybe Redden can watch old Warren Moon highlights, a nine-time Pro Bowl quarterback who played professional football for 23 years. How about Michael Vick, who revolutionized the position as we know it today in both college and professional football?
If that's not enough, Redden can watch former league MVP Cam Newton, second-year sensation Pat Mahomes, or Super Bowl winner Russell Wilson on Sunday's instead.
Redden's comment had no legitimate argument against Watson's ability to play football. It was racist.
No punishment has come down on Redden yet, but it would be shocking to see him stay in his position much longer after this. Anybody with ideals like this should not be educating young students.
Racism is alive and well, and it's high time we start to realize it needs to go.
