ESPN suspends Rob Parker for racially charged remarks on RG3 - Los Angeles Times
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ESPN suspends Rob Parker for racially charged remarks on RG3

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Commentator Rob Parker has been suspended indefinitely by ESPN after he questioned Robert Griffin III’s blackness on the television show “First Take” on Thursday.

“Following yesterday’s comments Rob Parker has been suspended until further notice,” ESPN spokesman Mike Soltys said. “We are conducting a full review.”

Parker apparently did not think that there would be any repercussions for his racially charged remarks, which included him asking whether Griffin was a “brother” or a “cornball brother.”

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Parker responded to a tweet Thursday which said “Good luck in your next line of work!” by writing: “Typical silly response. Watch me on First Take tomorrow and Sat.#pleze.”

Parker has not tweeted since his suspension was announced.

Parker questioned Griffin’s racial identity because the Washington Redskins star is engaged to a white woman and may be a Republican.

“He’s black, he kind of does his thing, but he’s not really down with the cause; he’s not one of us,” Parker said. “He’s kind of black, but he’s not really the kind of guy you want to hang out with ‘cause he’s off to something else.”

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Griffin’s father, Robert Griffin II, weighed in on Parker’s comments on Thursday.

“I wouldn’t say it’s racism,” he told USA Today. “I would just say some people put things out there about people so they can stir things up.”

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Watch Rob Parker wonder if RGIII is a ‘cornball brother’

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