re: RG 3 being called "smart"

I haven't read through the thread, but this always drives me crazy around this time of year. There are two predominant biases/stereotypes that are almost ALWAYS put forth.

1) The black athlete lacks intelligence
2) The white athlete lacks athleticism

Here are two premium examples of said stereotypes:

1) Cam Newton

Last year, there were A LOT of criticisms thrown about with Cam. Questions about how he would transition to a pro-style offense were completely valid, IMO. A lot of people said he "can't throw," which I thought was plainly untrue just by watching him in college (great arm strength and he had a good feel for the passing game), but he wasn't really asked to shoulder the load as a passer, so some of that is understandable.

But the biggest myth was that he lacked intelligence. Critics further used a 2-minute interview with John Gruden to support the myth. "See he can't he draw up a play!" In a recent interview with George Whitfield, Cam's QB coach leading up to the draft, he commented that a lot of criticisms were thrown out about Cam, and he would often hear them and essentially say, "What? Are they talking about the same guy." He worked with him daily, always seeing his drive, his intelligence... his desire to be great. Yet, all these things were questioned. Whitfield went on to say, the criticisms were coming from guys who never met him, never shook his hand, and would have no idea about any of these things.

Cam's intelligence was routinely questioned. It struck me. Especially considering the year before you had a far bigger project in Tim Tebow, and that was never a criticism for him. He had plenty of other criticisms sure, but I never heard people say, "Well I don't know if he can learn an NFL offense."

2) Luke Kuechly

I spent a decent amount of time reading about him from a variety of mock drafts to Eagles bloggers, because he seemed a natural fit for the Eagles. The critiques were ALWAYS the same: "Highly productive, concerns about athleticism." Over and over and over you'd see it. It was puzzling. The kid shows up at the combine sculpted like a greek god, blazes a couple of 4.5 40s at 250 pounds, tests out well in every measure of explosiveness and completely dispels any myth that he isn't athletic.

To me, both are examples of people simply having stereotypes based on skin colors. The perception is that black athletes aren't intelligent, but "instinctive, natural and athletic" and white athletes aren't athletic but "intelligent, hard working and crafty."

ETA: And to stay on point about Griffin, I didn't need to see him break down a play to know he was intelligent. He graduated from Baylor in 3 years. If he was going to come back to school, they were going to have to find a way for him to juggle being a student athlete that was also in Law School.

quote:

---

What? This statement is dumb. I know plenty of people whom speak well , but are dumbasses. You can't tell someone intellect by their speech.

---

Amen! Most people are gullible and easily manipulated by someone who is glib and articulate. That's why good con men will always a good living. For the most part, a person's speech is determined by the environment they grew up in. If you take someone with average intelligence who was raised in an upper-middle class environment by two parents who make their living with their mouthes (eg. English professor, trial lawyer, TV news anchor, politician, etc), the/she will likely be articulate without even trying.

So the same people complaining at people assuming RGIII is smart because he speaks well, are now assuming RGIII's Baylor degree is a worthless indicator because he is an athlete? Did i gather that right?

He's the same size as Rodgers and bigger than Brees; they seem to be doing fine.

Baylor isn't exactly a community college is it?

The liberal media is making Griffin seem more intelligent than he really is because they want to finally see a black QB succeed.

quote:

---

Lord I love the mindset of some of the "simple folk" in this region of the country

---

It is pretty stupid. You can listen to RG3 talk and tell he's educated. He's well spoken and eloquent.

He's more than "smart for a black guy", he's smart for a football player period.

People being impressed by his intelligence for something he did on TV with Mooch is like people learning Tebow is a Christian because he prayed on the field. You would think the national media would have caught on by these guys last season in college.

quote:

---

He is intelligent because he is a decent guy and from what I hear raised well

---

No, he's smart because he was born that way and he used it to educate himself. He got a degree in three years at Baylor. He made the Big XII Commissioner's Honor Roll eight times. He may go to law school still too.

quote:

---

they want to finally see a black QB succeed.

---

Finally succeed? Is that you Rush Limbaugh?