Media Created Strawmen To Argue In Favor of Lamar Jackson
Analysts on television tell us people disrespect Lamar Jackson, doubt him, underrate him, and disfavor him.
Who are those people?
Unfortunately, the analysts making those claims never tell us. They never cite specific examples.
“I want people to put some respect on Lamar Jackson’s name," Robert Griffin III shouted on the ESPN pregame show Saturday before the Ravens-Texans matchup. "He deserves that."
Griffin's colleague, Stan Verrett -- the obtuse imbecile who sources say ESPN wanted to lay off but feared the inevitable racial backlash -- tweeted that "Critics say Lamar Jackson HAS to win a Super Bowl to be considered a great quarterback."
Mandating Jackson to win a Super Bowl would be unfair. Luckily, no one says Jackson "HAS" to win a Super Bowl.
At most, there was some discussion during the week that Jackson needed to improve his 1-3 playoff records to be considered an equal to Patrick Mahomes.
How dare those bastards hold Jackson to the same standards as every other star quarterback before him?
Jemele Hill, Kendrick Perkins, Marcus Spears, and Domonique Foxworth echoed similar sentiments, suggesting the coverage of Jackson is unfair.
They are pandering. No one of substance disrespects Lamar Jackson.
Claims otherwise are part of a media-generated narrative, thus allowing hosts to defend their favorite quarterback against strawmen.
GLENDALE, ARIZONA - AUGUST 21: Quarterback Lamar Jackson #8 of the Baltimore Ravens on the sidelines during the first half of the NFL preseason game against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium on August 21, 2022 in Glendale, Arizona. The Ravens defeated the Cardinals 24-17. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Jackson is set to win his second MVP, an award on which the media votes. He's consistently ranked among the best quarterbacks in the NFL. His team is favored to win the Super Bowl. He's praised across the networks of ESPN and FS1.
Reporters apologize when they offend Lamar Jackson. Seriously. Mike Florio apologized to Jackson last month after the quarterback took offense to Florio picking the 49ers to beat the Ravens.
"Lamar is right. I apologize for how I phrased my opinion. I believed the 49ers were dramatically better than every other team in the NFL: Cowboys, Eagles, Chiefs, Dolphins, everyone. The Ravens proved otherwise. They deserve complete and total respect for what they accomplished," said Florio.
Jackson is deservedly respected. He is universally pampered.
But what about the lady who said he wasn't "quarterbacky"?
Exactly.
Jackson sympathizers amplify randos who make unpleasant arguments against him, pretending as if those statements represent the consensus narrative around him.
They don't.
One can find a low-hanging fruit belittling any star player. Gasbag radio hosts still say Tom Brady was part of the Patriots system.
The host who questioned how "quarterbacky" Jackson, Monse Bolanos, has 5,000 followers on X and hosts a Fox Sports Radio show on Saturdays.
She's nobody.
Her comment only made the news because LeBron James, Jemele Hill, and "Black Twitter" reacted in faux outrage.
They made Bolanos' otherwise obscure comment into a trending topic.
Ultimately, the press prematurely painted the narrative that Jackson is a victim of a racist coalition of NFL owners and media reporters, and now must defend said narrative at all costs.
The demand for anti-Lamar rhetoric far outstrips the supply. Consequently, the likes of RGIII have resorted to debunking narratives about Jackson that do exist.
Simply put, they pretend someone unidentified disrespected Lamar Jackson in order to accuse the media of slandering the Disrespected Black QB.
The sports media takes the inverse approach when covering Josh Allen. They pretend people defend Allen in order to accuse the media of favoring the Big Bad White QB.
Former HBO and ESPN host Bomani Jones spent Monday morning arguing just that, ignoring the widespread criticism of Josn Allen to make his point.
I know, facts are inconvenient.
Jackson is a great quarterback. He does not need the media, Black Twitter, and athletes to shield him. He does not need them to argue with strawmen in his favor.
Lamar Jackson is not a victim of the media. The media is his friend.