A Texas school superintendent is in hot water after making a racist comment about Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson.
Lynn Redden, who oversees 1,130 students and 175 staffers in the Onalaska Independent School District roughly 100 miles north of Houston, criticized Watson after the Texans’ 27-20 Week 2 loss to the Tennessee Titans. The superintendent was reacting to Watson’s indecisiveness on the game’s final play, during which the 23-year-old QB held the ball for too long before completing a pass as time expired, preventing Houston from attempting a game-tying field goal.
“That may have been the most inept quarterback decision I’ve seen in the NFL,” Redden wrote in a since-deleted Facebook comment, per the Houston Chronicle. “When you need precision decision making you can’t count on a black quarterback.”
Redden posted the comment on a Facebook post promoting a Chron.com story about the game. The 64-year-old, however, told the Chronice he thought he was replaying to a friend’s private message — as if that would’ve been any better.
When attempting to explain himself, Redden arguably dug himself into a deeper hole.
“Over the history of the NFL, (black quarterbacks) have had limited success,” he told the Chronicle.
Redden’s remark, of course, is not true. Yes, there are fewer examples of “successful” African-American quarterbacks than there are “successful” white QBs, but it’s probably fair to say that’s more a product of unequal opportunity, rather than some genetically predisposed signal-calling ineptitude.
Here’s a list of black quarterbacks who have achieved great success in the NFL:
Warren Moon — Pro Football Hall of Famer, nine-time Prow Bowler.
Doug Williams — Super Bowl champion, Super Bowl MVP.
Steve McNair — MVP, three-time Pro Bowler.
Randall Cunningham — Four-time Pro Bowler, two-time first-team All-Pro.
Donovan McNabb — Six-time Pro Bowler, played in one Super Bowl.
Daunte Culpepper — Three-time Pro Bowler, two-time first-team All-Pro.
Michael Vick — Four-time Pro Bowler
Cam Newton — Three-time Pro Bowler, one-time first-team All-Pro, MVP, played in one Super Bowl
Russell Wilson — Four-time Pro Bowler, played in two Super Bowls, including one victory.
No, Watson currently doesn’t belong on that list. But anyone who watched the Clemson product last season knows he has the talent to be as good — if not better — than each of those quarterbacks.
As for Redden, he told the Chronicle he “totally” regrets making the comment. He also said he didn’t intend for the remark to come across as racist, and that he wishes it “had never been posted.”
Redden hadn’t been disciplined by the Onalaska ISD as of Monday, he told the Chronicle.
