One of my favorite things in sports is when athletes make jokes in their postgame or practice press conferences and reporters either don’t get them or they do get them but still turn them into mini controversies for the sake of slow news days. Case in point – when asked about Chad Henne’s 59 rushing yards against the New England Patriots on Monday Night Football, Brandon Marshall laughed and called him the “White Michael Vick.”
SOUND THE RACISM ALARMS! LET LOOSE THE HOUNDS OF DOUBLE STANDARDS!
Or don’t. Because this is completely stupid. Here’s what Marshall said:
Reporter: “What do you think of scrambling Chad, Brandon?” (laughs)
Brandon: (laughing) “I like it as long as he don’t get hit.”
Other Reporter: “You called him Michael Vick.”
Brandon: (smiling) “Yeah, the White Vick.”
(Everyone laughs)
And that’s the end of the story. At least it should be. Instead, it’s being reported as if Marshall honestly believes that Henne’s panic scrambles for his career-high rushing yardage really equates to Vick’s talent. Hell, Henne had 52 rushing yards all of last season, so it should be clear as day that Marshall was simply making a joke. But hey, that’s the joy of reporting without context. Let’s fire up the masses and stir up controversy around the guy with the mental problems.
That is, until Tim Tebow circumcises another child and we can run a story about how he diddles kids. Respect the power of the sports media.
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