McNabb on the money: Black QBs have to be Twice as Good

Doyel: Ironic ... and ridiculous

There is no racism in America. None, zippo, not an ounce of it.

It doesn't exist. Gone is the 'R' word. We all hold hands and make love with our interracial faces and sing bi-racial songs of multiracial joy while snuggled safely in our Cabalanasian Womb of Harmony. Halle-racial-lujah.

Remember, the Eagles were sorry before Donovan arrived. (AP)

Racism is dead, dude, so shut up. That will be the response from most people reacting to the comments from Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb, including my esteemed colleague Gregg "Don't Call Me Malcolm X" Doyel.

Or in response to McNabb fans will say -- and I always love this one -- why do you people talk so much about race? (Based on some of the e-mail I receive, sometimes I think "You People" is my first name.) The notion that only African-Americans raise issues of race or do so disproportionately is the biggest of all lies. Whites discuss racial issues as much as blacks or any other ethnicity. (See: Clay Travis.)

But let's not forget there is no racism in America. Not a damn drop.

I've always liked McNabb and I appreciate him even more now. Good for him. Good for not doing what so many star black athletes do, which is make their millions while losing their soul, their ethnicity and their grasp on reality (see: Tiger Woods).

Good for McNabb, although, of course, as we all know, racism is a figment of the imagination. McNabb told HBO that African-American quarterbacks are held to a higher standard and face more pressure than white quarterbacks due to their scarcity. He added there are still people who don't want blacks playing the position.

Well, duh.

The issue of race and quarterbacks has received a thorough vetting over the past decades but this kind of refreshing honesty from an athlete makes me all warm inside.

Read carefully what McNabb is saying. He is not talking about NFL teams being biased. He is not saying athletes don't get booed or should not be held to a higher standard. McNabb is saying something entirely different.

"There's not that many African-American quarterbacks, so we have to do a little bit extra," McNabb tells HBO. "Because the percentage of us playing this position, which people didn't want us to play ... is low, so we do a little extra.

"I pass for 300 yards. Our team wins by seven, [mimicking] 'Ah, he could've made this throw, they would have scored if he did this,' " McNabb states.

Again, dead on. And so is McNabb's notion that the media is tougher on black quarterbacks than on players like Carson Palmer and Peyton Manning. "Let me start by saying I love those guys," McNabb said. "But they don't get criticized as much as we do. They don't."