Why Cries of 'Racism' About the Giants' Surprise Draft Pick Are Pure Idiocy
The first round of the 2019 NFL draft is officially in the books, and a surprising number of teams’ fan bases seem rather content with their respective selections.
The Arizona Cardinals may have made a “big mistake,” according to Nick Bosa, the Ohio State star who was passed over at No. 1, but their fans seem more than content with Oklahoma’s Kyler Murray as the face of their franchise.
Pittsburgh Steelers fans must be thrilled to have a replacement for the injured Ryan Shazier with Michigan’s Devin Bush.
New England Patriots fans are probably thrilled that Arizona State’s N’Keal Harry, the type of receiver that Tom Brady has seldom had in his career, fell to them at the bottom of the first round.
There were, however, two teams that seemed to draw the scorn of fans and pundits alike. Ironically, they were the two teams that both had three first-round picks.
The Oakland Raiders came under fire for reaching at No. 4 for Clemson’s Clelin Ferrell, though they seem to have at least nailed picks No. 24 and 27 (Alabama running back Josh Jacobs and Mississippi State safety Johnathan Abram).
And then there are the New York Giants.
The same team that took a running back at No. 2 overall in last year’s draft, ahead of tantalizing quarterback prospects such as Josh Allen, Josh Rosen, Sam Darnold and Lamar Jackson, nearly incited a riot with its fan base for taking Duke’s Daniel Jones at No. 6 overall when standout players like Kentucky’s Josh Allen (not to be confused with the aforementioned quarterback prospect) and Houston’s Ed Oliver were still on the board.
Now, to be fair, it’s still far too early to judge the pick. Jones might be the next Peyton Manning. We won’t really know until he starts taking NFL snaps. And if Jones was, in fact, the highest-rated quarterback the Giants had scouted, they should have taken him.
Legitimate criticisms surround how the Giants selected Jones. There’s a good chance New York could have gotten him with the No. 17 overall pick, although to be fair, two teams thought to be interested in quarterbacks — the Miami Dolphins and Washington Redskins picked 13th and 15th.
The Giants could’ve traded back a few spots and acquired an extra pick from a team desperate to get Kentucky’s Allen.
It’s just irresponsible asset management to take a quarterback at No. 6 when he could’ve been acquired later on, even if you see him as the chosen one.
The above criticisms of the Jones selection are absolutely fair game.
You know what’s not?
The utterly insane accusations now floating around that the New York Giants, the franchise of icons like Lawrence Taylor, Michael Strahan and Tiki Barber, is a racist organization.
The speculation was kicked off by loudmouth Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback Jalen Ramsey. The notorious trash-talker seemed to hint heavily in a tweet that had Ohio State quarterback Dwayne Haskins been white, the Giants would’ve nabbed him at No. 6.
I bet If Dwayne was… nvm ? @Jaguars on the clock ?
— Jalen Ramsey (@jalenramsey) April 26, 2019
While Ramsey didn’t explicitly mention race or skin color, it’s not clear where else that sentiment could’ve gone.
From there, Fox Sports’ Cris Carter piled on that narrative during Friday’s edition of “First Things First.”
“If Dwayne Haskins, as an African American, goes to Duke and puts up those mediocre stats, 7th in the Conference, he’s not drafted Day 1 or Day 2. That stuff is racial.”
— @criscarter80 pic.twitter.com/MTq0I5WEJn
— First Things First (@FTFonFS1) April 26, 2019
Ramsey and Carter’s comments opened the floodgates on social media.
A quick Twitter search of the phrase “Giants racist” yields countless results, many of which are not fit to be republished. Here’s just an inkling of the more PG-rated racist accusations against the team.
Yup the Giants are a racist franchise there is no doubt about it
— A CHEV (@daonlybigsexy) April 26, 2019
The Giants are big racist and they need to be called out publicly.
— xo, d (@shesDIOR_) April 26, 2019
the giants franchise and dave gettleman is racist.
— Alãn. (@Alan_sbg) April 26, 2019
Again, that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
The idiocy of that take should be readily apparent. The Giants are racist because they took a white quarterback over a black quarterback? Wouldn’t that make just about every NFL franchise ever racist? The Indianapolis Colts took Andrew Luck over Robert Griffin III in 2012, so they must clearly be racist. Or what about all the teams last year that passed on Lamar Jackson? Can the Ravens be racist for passing on Jackson before trading back up to get him?
Never mind that the Giants took a black running back before a slew of white quarterbacks last year. Never mind that the Giants’ most iconic players, such as the aforementioned Taylor, Strahan and Barber, are black. Never mind that two-thirds of the Giants’ first-round picks are black players. Nope, they must be racist because it fits the agenda of race baiters.
There are plenty of reasons to criticize the Giants and general manager David Gettleman. They showed Thursday night they’re not great at managing draft assets. But they are not racist because they drafted Daniel Jones.
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