Submitted by Fox First at Ten on December 15th
By Liz Raftery,
ESPN has suspended commentator Rob Parker after he referred to Washington Redskins rookie Robert Griffin III as a "cornball brother," according to the network. Check out this week's NFL scheduleParker made the comments after Griffin said during a news conference that he didn't want to be defined by [his] race and "put in a box with other African-American quarterbacks." On ESPN's First Take Thursday, Parker said, "Is he a brother, or is he a cornball brother?"
Asked by his colleagues to clarify, Parker, who is black, said, "He's black, he kind of does his thing, but he's not really down with the cause. He's not one of us."
"Following yesterday's comments, Rob Parker has been suspended until further notice," ESPN spokesman Josh Krulewitz said in a statememt. "We are conducting a full review." Gridiron to Hollywood: See football stars who moved to the big screen
In full context, Griffin's initial comments were related to his passing game versus the running game. "That's the negative stereotype when it comes to African-American quarterbacks, that most of us just run," he said. "I like to think I can throw it around a little bit."
Parker went on to mention that Griffin is married to a white woman and is rumored to be a Republican.
"I'm just trying to dig deeper into why he has an issue," Parker said at the time.
Watch video of Parker's comments here. Do you think his comments were inappropriate?
View original ESPN's Rob Parker Suspended After Calling Robert Griffin III a "Cornball Brother" at TVGuide.com
Other Links From TVGuide.com
First Take View the original article on TVGuide.com
