Jesus Wasn't Silent When He Turned the Other Cheek

Anyone who knows me knows that I have plenty of issues with Donovan McNabb as a football player. I also have a variety of issues with him as a person. I have never met the man, but I saw enough during his eleven years in Philadelphia to know what I know.

My biggest issues with McNabb are those things that lead other people to call him classy. I find a great many of his “classy” actions to be passive aggressive, dishonest, and disrespectful. Yesterday, after he was benched in favor of Rex Grossman during the final two minutes of Washington’s 37-25 loss in Detroit, McNabb provided a perfect example of what I find so disturbing about him.

He always does his very best to avoid causing controversy. Donovan McNabb does not want to be seen as a troublemaker. As a result, the man never stands up for himself. It happened in Philadelphia, and now it’s happening in Washington.

If my child responded to disrespect in the manner that Donovan McNabb consistently does, I would be ashamed of him/her. Every time one of these situations pops up, I think about the song, You Gotta Be by Des’ree. The opening stanza is:

Listen as your day unfolds
Challenge what the future holds
Try and keep your head up to the sky
Lovers, they may cause you tears
Go ahead release your fears
Stand up and be counted
Don't be ashamed to cry

This is what McNabb never does. McNabb always publicly makes light of the situation and refuses to challenge the coaches. I will not go so far as to call McNabb a yes man, but he most definitely is a company man. An effective team leader cannot be a company man. It absolutely cannot work. This is why many of the defensive players never fully backed McNabb during his days as the Eagles’ quarterback. This also cost him the full support of the offensive players during his final two years in Philadelphia. In November 2008, he was benched in the second half of a game in Baltimore. He reacted the same way, and from that point on, the skill position players were Kevin Kolb guys. McNabb never publicly admits to being angry or feeling disrespected until he is already removed from the situation. This is not classy. This is prey behavior. He speaks and behaves like a victim; this is the furthest thing from leadership.

People call McNabb classy and a nice guy, but I don’t see it that way. It is never right to allow others to disrespect you. When you allow other people to disrespect you, you are admitting to the world that you are not worthy of respect. Due to their circumstances, some people feel as if they must grin and bear it. McNabb should not feel that need. He is an NFL quarterback who people generally like. But, no, he never commands respect from anyone perceived to be at or above his level. Sure, he can criticize Terrell Owens, but he can never stand up to Andy Reid or Mike Shanahan until they are no longer his coach. It’s weak. It’s the way of a victim.

People say they respect McNabb for turning the other cheek. The thought I cannot escape is this: Jesus wasn’t silent when He turned the other cheek. You should never act as if it is fine when people disrespect you. You should never allow people to act disrespectfully toward anyone and then act as if they are not doing so. Allowing disrespect to go unacknowledged is living a lie. Every time McNabb allows this to happen to him, he perpetuates the problem.

And this affects more than him. Think about this: if Donovan McNabb can’t stand up for himself, what Black quarterback can? Because of his stature and accomplishments, McNabb is viewed, more or less, as the standard bearer for Black quarterbacks. If he refuses to stand up for himself, then other Black quarterbacks must follow suit. If he were to speak up and not allow others to publicly disrespect him, the media would grow more comfortable with other Black quarterbacks doing it too. Remember when Vince Young had his episode? People remember that it occurred after Young was benched in favor of Kerry Collins. What is never mentioned anymore is that Young was widely criticized in the media for speaking about how upset and disappointed he was for being benched.

Meanwhile, Aaron Rodgers and Kevin Kolb are praised for their desire to play when they expressed their anger and impatience at having to sit behind Brett Favre and McNabb, respectively. Vince Young was not afforded that same praise. Some of that is attributable to McNabb’s refusal to stand up for himself.

You act like a victim, you become a victim.