Robert Griffin III, as Washington Redskins quarterback/AP
by Jim Corbett, USA TODAY Sports
ASHBURN, VA. -- Robert Griffin II said he isn't taking offense with disparaging racial comments made by an ESPN First Take commentator Thursday, because "it's not going to benefit" anyone.
Earlier
in the day, during the show, commentator Rob Parker, who is black, had
questioned Robert Griffin III's authenticity by asking, "Is he a
brother, or is he a cornball brother?" Parker then continued his
criticism of the Washington Redskins rookie quarterback:
"He's not
real. OK, he's black, he kind of does the thing, but he's not really
down with the cause," Parker said. "He's not one of us. He's kind of
black, but he's not really, like, the guy you want to hang out with
because he's off to something else.
"We all know he has a white
fiancee. There was all this talk about how he's a Republican ... Tiger
Woods was like, 'I've got black skin but don't call me black.'"
Griffin
II told USA TODAY Sports he was baffled by the comments but wouldn't
fire back Thursday night, even though Parker's remarks ignited the
blogosphere and sparked angry social media responses. A few minutes
later after his father spoke, Griffin III tweeted to supporters: "I'm
thankful for a lot of things in life and one of those things is your
support. Thank you."
ESPN spokesman Mike Soltys told USA TODAY
Sports that Parker's comments "were inappropriate and we are evaluating
our next steps."
Griffin II said his next steps were to dismiss Parker's remarks.
"He
needs to define what 'one of us' is. That guy needs to define that," he
said. "I wouldn't say it's racism. I would just say some people put
things out there about people so they can stir things up.
"Robert
is in really good shape on who he is, where he needs to get to in order
to seek the goals he has in life ... so I don't take offense."
During his weekly news conference Wednesday, Griffin III said he didn't want to be defined by race.
"You
want to be defined by your work ethic, the person you are, your
character, your personality," he said. "I am an African-American in
America. But I don't have to be defined by that."
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