A few days ago a story came out about how back in 2017 following the NFL Draft that Washington Redskins VP Doug Williams openly stated to a Washington Post writer that the Chicago Bears would’ve drafted either Patrick Mahomes or Deshaun Watson over Mitch Trubisky if they were both white. This narrative has been persistent among many fans for some time now. Lots of speculation about whether the McCaskey family or GM Ryan Pace are racists. Doug Gottlieb of Fox Sports Radio doesn’t buy that narrative for a second. Race had nothing to do with it. This was just a terrible misevaluation by Pace.
Watson though decided to stir the pot when he responded to Gottlieb, emphatically claimed the Bears never talked to him during the pre-draft process. Inevitably this kicked off another firestorm on social media. However, Watson may have been caught fibbing a bit as videos soon surfaced of him admitting on the Rich Eisen Show that the Bears had indeed spoken to him on the phone. Yet by then, it was too late. Ther reactionaries were out in full force.
Among the most notable was Roddy White. The former Pro Bowl wide receiver of the Atlanta Falcons didn’t hold back in his own comment. He stated the Bears organization is trash and never had a black quarterback on their roster. Chicago would never have embraced him like Houston has.
Roddy White is extremely wrong on this Deshaun Watson take
This shouldn’t be a surprise. White has developed a reputation over the years for over the top reactions to anything and everything. Especially when it involves race. He once called on all the jurors from the George Zimmerman trial to kill themselves for finding him not guilty. He showed support for Michael Vick right after the man was sent to prison for dog fighting. The man is not shy about voicing his opinion. The problem is he came into the conversation without having done any research at all.
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In truth, the Bears have employed five black quarterbacks at some point or another during the Super Bowl era. Vince Evans started some games for them in the early 1980s. Kordell Stewart and Henry Burris were both on the team in 2002. Florida standout Chris Leak was with them in 2007 during the preseason. Last but not least was Jason Campbell who served as Jay Cutler’s backup in 2012. Chicago has employed a number of black quarterbacks. Just not any good ones, which shouldn’t be a surprise given the track record of this franchise at that position.
White is pushing a narrative that doesn’t exist. The Bears didn’t ignore Watson because of his skin color. They ignored him because they were stupid and close-minded.