MY BHM Moment: Rob Parker Must Go
February 12, 2009 by dwil
Hello folks, it’s Black History Month. Remember that space in time? It’s the four weeks – exactly four except for leap years – when it is ‘Black People Black People Black People Yeah!’ time. It’s the 28 days of Blackness – Kwanzaa writ KWANZAA. BHM (someone should begin a website called, “BHM” – “Because it’s Our Month All Year Long”).Since it is BHM I thought I’d celebrate the month with my thoughts on a well-known black sportswriter who exemplifies why BHM exists (and maybe why white people really believe there is a hidden government-controlled affirmative action watchdog department for white-owned companies and corporations).
This sportswriter’s name is ———————— Rob Parker.
Oh wait! Rob Parker is no longer officially a sportswriter, is he? Oh well. We’ll address his non-sportswriter status in a minute.
Parker is from and was raised in New York City. He attended the famed Columbia School for Journalism as a graduate student, which greatly aided in launching his career. He began his career working as a reporter for the Times Leader, a local newspaper in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. After that humble beginning, Parker has since worked for the Cincinnati Enquirer, the New York Daily News, was the first black sports columnist at New York’s Newsday newspaper, and most recently was a columnist for the Detroit News. In addition to those writing assignments, Parker has become a regular guest opposite Skip Bayless on ESPN’s morning show, First Take in a daily, four-part show mainstay, 1st and 10.
Unfortunately, Parker’s matriculation from Columbia or his employment history are not why he is a prime candidate for a BHM article.
Why Parker is part of the BHM 2009 honor roll is because this guy has no writing gig – it appears he doesn’t believe in blogging or has no interest in doing so; he’s not even keeping his name in circulation through writing on the Internet – and when he did write seemed to devolve rather than evolve, and still has a Baseball Hall of Fame vote.
Now if that isn’t a major accomplishment for a black man I don’t know what is.
Before being accepted to Columbia, Parker attended that bastion of success, Southern Connecticut State University, located in New Haven. Now, until I checked Parker’s Wiki entry, I never heard of SCSU. Apparently the school’s claim to fame is that it is true to its founding purpose, which is to produce teachers.
Ironically, SCSU produced Scott Mersereau who is famous only because he was responsible for the hit that caused teammate Dennis Byrd’s paralysis. Additionally, the Owls as SCSU sports teams are nicknamed, produced former head coach and current New York Giants offensive coordinator, Kevin Gilbride and ESPN Executive Senior VP of Studio and Event Production, Norby Williamson.
Now that I know a bit about SCSU, about the institution, I can firmly say ———– “Who cares?!” What I do care about is that the New Haven university produced one Rob Parker.
Over the years Parker was a much-maligned columnist and was a favorite target of white sports fans’ ire. His sometimes incomprehensible writings and wildly vacillating viewpoints allowed fans to wonder if Parker was part of an affirmative action conspiracy.
I remember the 1st and 10 segment last spring where Parker said he expected little in the way of NBA production from Minnesota Timberwolves forward Kevin Love (9.4 ppg, 8.7 rpg in only 23.8 minutes of play per game in this his rookie season) and North Carolina forward Tyler Hansbrough because they are white. At the time I thought, No he didn’t!” While the statement could be construed as “saying the unsaid” from Parker – and without proper explanation or explanatory info – it seemed disingenuous and said to create controversy rather than make a salient point.
There was calling Henry Aaron a “coward” for failing to attend games where Barry Bonds had the opportunity to break his record. Now, while I agree that Aaron was definitely wrong to openly side with Bud Selig and then ask to be left alone, yet make snide, snarky comments about Bonds and his breaking the home run record, calling Aaron a coward without providing context for the accusation was inexcusable for a columnist, especially a black columnist. We black people can certainly critique each other (hey! I’m doing it now!), but provide context for the criticism(s), okay?. But what is so very confounding about Parker’s Aaron statement is his outright distaste for Mr. Bonds. While Parker excoriated Aaron he, at the same time maintains Bonds is a “bad guy, he’s just a bad guy,” as he let me know in no uncertain terms in an interview with him.
Next, Parker nearly ruined Kirk Cousins’ Michigan State career by falsely accusing him of getting into a fight. After Spartans head coach Mark Dantonio undressed Parker in his weekly press conference the Detroit News suspended the offending columnist.
Finally, there is the infamous Rod Marinelli incident (do we need to rehash that one?!).
In between all of this, Parker has regularly acted like a buffoon for the camera as a black, less intelligent foil for Skip Bayless on ESPN. Now I understand that for whatever reason every black writer that regularly enters the Big Disney’s state-sponsored sports arm’s halls seems to lose major pieces of their soul, not even soul theft occurs in a vacuum; you must aid and abet and open yourself open to the devil – being part of the system does not mean you must become consumed by it.
Today Parker, while talking about baseball’s continued superficial woes on ESPN’s 1st and 10 four-part daily First Take segment, informed watchers that he is “a baseball fan” who loves to go to the games and “pays for tickets” to go to games.
Now besides being a BET Negro of the Year potential award winner, as nominated by Aaron McGruder’s “Boondocks” character, “Huey,” how in the hell can Parker continue to have a Baseball Hall of Fame vote?
Look, I’m a fan of baseball, pay for tickets, and all that good stuff, but I don’t have a vote! I understand the intricacies of the game, have a decent working knowledge of baseball’s history, and all that, but I – DO – NOT – HAVE – A -HALL -VOTE!… And neither do many very capable baseball writers nor do many very baseball-intense fans.
Look, since Parker doesn’t have a job as a writer any more, doesn’t have his own website or blog, and doesn’t add anything of value to conversations about or surrounding the game of baseball, please take his Baseball Hall of Fame vote from him. Or, the Hall can open the voting to fans. Hand out applications at every baseball stadium during the first week of the season and pick voters from the MLB fan base.
But do not, do not allow Rob Parker to continue to have a Hall of Fame vote, even if he is one of the very few black people who are not on the Veteran’s Committee to have a vote.
There, it’s done. That’s my contribution to Black History Month.
Hey DWil,
So you don’t get surprised again. CT also has a Central, Eastern, and Western Connecticut State Universities. Along with UConn Avery Point (on the Eastern shoreline), UConn Greater Hartford, UConn Stamford (near NYC) , UConn Torrington (Northwest CT), and UConn Waterbury (sort of West-Central). Not to mention Connecticut College, known as the Camels, no I am not kidding.
You would think a state this small would not have all this but we pull it off.
Later.
It boggles my mind that Parker wouldn’t be writing in some format. Actual sportswriters would be doing some work — whether it was unvarnished opinion or just trying to get informed work out there — on the web.
Parker is just one in a long line of baseball writers who shouldn’t have HOF votes.
This reminds me how Clarence Thomas got to be an SCJ. Put the most inept black person you can find and kill two birds: “Look, here’s your black token, and he represents the best of you!”
Ya know!…
Why do folks persist in shitting on the fact that Black History Month is in February? Woodson borrowed the Black History WEEK concept from another entity and popularized it because the condition of Black folk was juxtaposed to the unfulfilled promises of Presidents Washington, Jefferson and Lincoln. Black History Week was a brilliant and effective attempt to expose the hypocrisy of President’s Week.
It worked so well it was expanded to Black History Month. If those 3 Presidents were born in July or December, Black History Week would have begun in that month and grown accordingly.
Woodson did his thing and he never suggested that our history be relegated to a mere week or month, but he bravely, creatively and continually demanded critical attention at the time when America and the world wanted to celebrate its alleged freedom fighters while ignoring the sons and daughters of its bonded architects of liberty.
I would love to see a bit more appreciation for Carter G. Woodson and the folks who put it down back in the day. February and its number of days is simply beside the point. Black History Month was not GIVEN to Black people by “whites.” It was claimed by people who dedicated day after day and year and year to the detailed and painstaking study of our long and mighty walk.
T3-
What an odd response. I’ll email you rather than carry this out in public…. But just in case you don’t know, I know the history of BHM and have written much about Mr. Woodson’s efforts in this regard.
I think we’re on the same page.
okay, I’ve got to most respectfully part with all you fine gentlemen on rob parker having a hall of fame vote.
Do you guys know just how bad the alternatives are!!!!
If I recall correctly (and correct me if I’m mistaken), Parker will at least cast his vote for Bonds and others from the “steroid era”.
That fact alone makes him more qualified that the vast body of sanctimonious, anal-retentive, and hypocritical “purists” that only yielded mark mcgwire a 23% vote.
this test is being graded on a curve.
D-Wil,
You’re wrong about Rob. Criticizing someone you know very little about without any premise. Did you see the report where parker “accused” Kirk Cousins of being in a fight? I doubt you did, because if you had, you would have seen he didn’t accuse Cousins of a damn thing. It was blown out of proportion by the sensitive Michigan State base. You act like he called Hank Aaron a coward without base, He wrote and entire column on it, but I guess you chose to overlook that!
Since he doesn’t have a blog, he doesn’t deserve to have a HOF vote? If you knew anything about the baseball HOF, they actually take votes away from writers who strictly have a blog, so again, wrong. He’s covered more baseball than most of us would dream to, so why bag on him when he’s actually a fan, too? Don’t we want our writers to love the game they cover too?
You don’t know if he’s writing or not, what the basis is of his TV work was and all u wanna do is call him a buffoon for ESPN…Maybe he actually has substance to add, and his points, although provocative, have genuine reasons behind it…
Whatever reason you wanna be mad at Rob, go ahead but don’t insult his education or his credibility….
No one -
I know full well that you can’t have a blog and have Hall vote. If you can comprehend what I wrote, you would have understood that the mention of the blog is in context of the you —- uhhh, I mean Parker not writing…. You mean you —– I mean Parker used to cover baseball – cause he ain’t no mo’! At least not until he gets another writing gig…..
No, you’re —- uhhh, I mean Parker, is not writing, at least not anything that is produced in a newspaper or magazine (and BTW, nice sentence there). Your —– ummm, I mean his “points” are not provocative at all, they are the ramblings of a buffoon.
So it all adds up to you ———– jeez, I mean him, being a nominee for a BET, NOY award.
…and if you’re not, leave an email address I can see in the comment section of my “Dashboard” —– (I know you catch my drift, “No one…”)
Heh, heh…
D, I can assure that “no one” isn’t Rob. He doesn’t even know about this, and he doesn’t get into this type of stuff anyway. I know that first hand. And he doesn’t have minions or anyone speaking for him, again I know that first hand. That being said, I completely disagree with your whole take, on a number of levels. You’re entitled to your opinion, as I have mine on a professional level and personal one.
He bojangles for no one, not the worldwide leader. Whatever you hear is what he believes. The Cousins thing, he never accused Cousins, all he said was, on a popular “rumor” segment was that Cousins may be involved in some way. Implying he was present, which he may have been, is not a crime, and it was turned into something big here in Detroit.
The other stuff, I’m not one to get into any name-calling or whatever, because he can speak for himself. But don’t assume he won’t be writing anywhere sometime soon…
Your take just seems a little heavy-handed for my tastes.
Peace
Vito-
The first black person who I find out has turned down the offer to be the dark foil to set up Skip Bayless and to make undo controversy for ESPN – which also has the end of trivializing the fact that athletes are real people and to spin the sports-related events they discuss in a direction ESPN hopes for – is the first person I will laud as conscious of the socio-cultural aims of the segment and its psychological impact on its viewers.
well, I don’t think that’s his role, his intent or anything like that…everything he says on ESPN is something he would tell me in person…he’s as genuine as they come….I just think you’re off-base on this one, dude