Eagles + Vick - McNabb = Racial Cover-Up?

While the nation is abuzz over the trade of Donovan McNabb to the Washington Redskins, one headline among hundreds concerning the whole ordeal really stood out: Did Eagles Get Michael Vick as Racial Cover-Up?

The writer (Zennie62) actually believes that the Eagles decision to sign Michael Vick was racially motivated and is willing to bet that he is right.


While I am willing to bet he is wrong, please allow me to set the table first...

For the last several weeks, I've been listening to various national football know-it-alls talking about how the Philadelphia Eagles were going to make a big mistake by trading Donovan McNabb. Yet, tune into the sports talk in Philly and you'll hear how fans and radio hosts alike were eager to send McNabb out of town. Is it possible that the fans in Philadelphia knew a little more about McNabb the rest of the less informed country? Absolutely.


So then it's no surprise that this bizarre headline is found on the website of a newspaper based, not in Philadelphia, but San Francisco. It's also no surprise that the writer also characterizes the decision to trade McNabb as "dumb." One then has to wonder whether the claim of a "racial cover-up" really has more to do with his dislike of the trade than anything else.

Now, if someone were a truly brushed up on the history of quarterbacking in Philadelphia, they'd recall that over the last 25-years, three players have started the overwhelming majority of football games for the Eagles:

1. Donovan McNabb
2. Rodney Peete
3. Randall Cunningham

As for the rest of the guys who have had brief stints behind center over those years, it's mostly an unimpressive list of Caucasian scrubs (Bobby Hoying, Doug Peterson, Ty Detmer, Koy Detmer, A.J. Feeley, etc.) who never started a full season for the Eagles.

Ron Jaworski was the last white Eagles quarterback to be the opening day starter in consecutive seasons way back in 1985 & 1986. Philly fans have been watching black quarterbacks guide their team through the bulk of the last 25 seasons beginning with Randall Cunningham.

Why then would the Philadelphia Eagles organization feel ANY need to protect themselves from some wild racism theory?? They shouldn't and they wouldn't.

That being the case, the claim that the Eagles signed Vick as a "racial cover-up" is completely and utterly asinine. ASININE.

You see, some NFL team was going to sign Michael Vick as a backup QB in 2009 -- so why not the Eagles?? Donovan McNabb's contract was nearing an end and with only a miserable 30-minutes of football under Kevin Kolb's belt, there certainly was a legitimate possibility that Michael Vick could have been the Eagles starter in 2010.

In terms of morals, signing Michael Vick was an awful decision. The guy is the scum of the earth. That being said, signing Señor Mexico was a relatively smart business decision by the Eagles since he basically had to settle for a crummy, low-money contract and like it.


While there are still plenty of places where African Americans don't get a fair shake in business and elsewhere, the Philadelphia Eagles are not a organization who would need protection from claims of racism. Furthermore, anyone who floats the idea that the Eagles needed to sign Michael Vick as a "racial cover-up" after 25-years of black quarterbacking is someone who only adds to the complications that we already have with racism in our country.

Good job, idiot.