As his May 21 WBC light-heavyweight title rematch with Jean Pascal rapidly approaches, Bernard Hopkins recently took some time to throw a few jabs ? not at the speed bag or his sparring partners, but at NFL quarterback Donovan McNabb.
Both athletes bear strong connections with the city of Philadelphia. Hopkins is the latest in a long line of renowned ?Philly fighters.? McNabb played for the Philadelphia Eagles, leading them to several division championships and an unsuccessful Super Bowl appearance. He was traded to the Washington Redskins, where he had a season last year that was reminiscent of Hopkins? losing effort against Joe Calzaghe.
Hopkins doesn?t much like McNabb. But it?s apparently not enough for him that the star quarterback no longer plays in Philadelphia.
According to an article in the Philadelphia Daily News, Hopkins said that McNabb ?had a privileged childhood in suburban Chicago and, as a result, is not black enough or tough enough, at least compared with, say, himself, Michael Vick and Terrell Owens.
?Forget this,? Hopkins said, pointing to his own dark skin. ?He’s got a suntan. That’s all.?
In addition, the Daily News article said Hopkins ?also implied that, while Vick and Owens remained true to their roots, McNabb did not, and that McNabb was rudely awakened when the Eagles traded him to the Redskins last year.?
Here we go again, with the old ?house Negro? vs. field Negro? divide, with an extra element of the ?authentic black vs. wannabe white? fandango. It?s a case of class conflict within race conflict. Hopkins is stirring a pot of social animosity that?s been boiling long before he and McNabb crossed paths, and will continue long after their athletic careers are over.
In response to Hopkins? gibes, McNabb?s agent, Fletcher Smith, issued a statement saying, among other things, that ?Ill-informed statements such as the perplexing one Mr. Hopkins muttered recently are dangerous and irresponsible. It perpetuates a maliciously inaccurate stereotype that insinuates those African-Americans who have access to a wider variety of resources are somehow culturally different than their brethren.?
Smith?s use of the word ?muttered? rather than ?uttered? suggests that he may harbor unconscious stereotypes of his own about Hopkins? well-known street upbringing and time in prison. Smith, by the way, is black, as are Hopkins and McNabb.
This is not the first time McNabb has been involved in a race controversy. Back in 2003, right-wing radio personality Rush Limbaugh got into trouble when he said this about McNabb on a sports program:
?I think what we?ve had here is a little social concern in the NFL. The media has been very desirous that a black quarterback do well. There is a little hope invested in McNabb, and he got a lot of credit for the performance of this team that he didn?t deserve. The defense carried this team.?
A few days after those comments, Limbaugh stepped down from his job on an ESPN show.
Please note that I am not in any way equating Bernard Hopkins with Rush Limbaugh. That would be an insult to Hopkins. The point is that Limbaugh didn?t give a damn whether McNabb was ?ghetto? or ?country? or ?bourgeoisie.? As far as Limbaugh was concerned, Donovan McNabb was black ? period.
Hopkins needs to concentrate on avenging last year?s draw with Pascal, and thus becoming the oldest man to win a world boxing championship. He doesn?t need to keep fanning the flames of an unnecessary feud with a football player.
Charles R. Saunders is the author of several books including Sweat and Soul: The Saga of Black Boxers in the Maritimes from the Halifax Forum to Caesars Palace, as well as the Imaro series of fantasy/adventure novels. Considered by many to be one of the leading authorities on boxing in Canada, he is the current Vice-President of Boxing for the Society of North American Sports Historians and Researchers.
