Media Race Baiters Could Cost Josh Allen MVP Like They Did Did Jokic

In April 2023, Nikola Jokic was the clear favorite to win the NBA MVP award, with odds around -220. Then, infamously, ESPN pundit Kendrick Perkins accused MVP voters of favoring white players, like Jokic. 

Perkins' accusations were without merit. Only five white players have won MVP in the last 30 years. As Charles Barkley said, Perkins was "talking out his ass." 

Nonetheless, Perkins changed the conversation surrounding the MVP award that season. His accusations scared voters. White voters didn't want to be called racist. Black voters didn't want to be labeled "sellouts." Ultimately, Joel Embiid undeservingly won the award.

The takeaway was obvious: MVP votes are influenced by hysteria espoused on television, especially racial hysteria. And that's worth remembering as the final weeks of the NFL regular season approach.

Currently, Bills quarterback Josh Allen is a -220 favorite to win NFL MVP at DraftKings. Fair. So, what's the problem? Put simply, the sports media has cast Allen in a similar role as it has Jokic: the big bad white guy who galvanizes the racist fans who oppose black excellence.

The casting is, of course, dishonest. But it pays the bills. 

ORCHARD PARK, NEW YORK - DECEMBER 1: Josh Allen #17 of the Buffalo Bills scores a touchdown as Fred Warner #54 of the San Francisco 49ers defends during the second half of an NFL football game at Highmark Stadium on December 1, 2024 in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images)

Josh Allen has been a target, perhaps the target, of the sports media's race hustlers for years. It started when his former use of the N-word on social media resurfaced on draft night and has continued since his emergence as the chief rival to media darlings Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson.

As Mike Greenberg discussed in a recent essay, Josh Allen is "the most unfairly judged player in the NFL." 

He explained, "We focus more on the one bad play Josh Allen makes every week than the 60 that almost no one else in history possibly could. His team would be so bad if they didn’t ask him to do absolutely everything."

ESPN NFL analyst Domonique Foxworth admitted on air that he "roots" for Allen "to fail" because he attracts the type of fans who "like dogs and American flags."

Uh, yeah.

The push to cost Allen the MVP began weeks ago. Bomani Jones spent literally two hours on X bemoaning that "the media" might give Josh Allen the MVP award after he led the Bills to victory over the Chiefs, handing Kansas City its first loss in nearly a year. 

Jones then angrily complained on his podcast that Lamar Jackson was more deserving than Allen in several inaccuracy-laden segments, which he has since deleted from social media. Jones has long accused the media of favoring Allen because he's white.

Ryan Clark echoed many of the same sentiments last week. According to Clark, a "narrative is being crafted" that Allen deserves the MVP to cost Jackson the award. 

Others on the network – like Chris Canty and Elle Duncan – have tried to share the same warning: those damn white voters want to give the award to Josh Allen over Lamar Jackson.

Now, the conversation sounded a little different Monday morning. The Lamar fanboys were no longer advocating for him. They shifted their focus toward Eagles' running back Saquon Barkley. 

See, the last seven MVP winners played on one of two teams that secured one of the two first seeds. The Ravens are currently the sixth seed in the AFC and two and a half games back in the loss column in their own division. So, with the award likely down to Allen and Barkley, the usual suspects are all in on Barkley.

[Saquon Barkley is the best player on the best team," Chris Canty declared on ESPN's morning radio show Monday, despite never mentioning Barkley in the MVP conversation until he realized Jackson was likely not in the running.

"There is no denying Saquon Barkley is the MVP frontrunner," said Stephen A Smith. 

"The Eagles walked in the Bank and left with a HUGE statement win and the MVP," Robert Griffin III posted on X. "Saquon Barkley is the MVP favorite right now."

Etc., etc., etc.

Saquon Barkley is a great player. He is arguably the best running back of this generation. However, a running back has not won the MVP award since Adrian Peterson in 2012, when he came within nine yards of breaking Eric Dickerson's single-season rushing record. Further, Jalen Hurts and the Eagles' top-rated defense are just as responsible for the team's success this season as Barkley.

Barkley is not more valuable to his team than Allen is to his. No honest person could dispute that.

But that doesn't mean Barkley won't win the award, undeservingly. He will surely have the pundits behind him, pressuring voters to vote his way. Heck, they might even use the "he is being overlooked as a running back" to his advantage, urging voters to prove they don't discriminate against non-quarterbacks.

Had Anthony Edwards, Kevin Durant, or Steph Curry been in the exact same situation as Jokic in 2023, they would have won the MVP award easily. Likewise, Mahomes, Jackson, or C.J. Stroud would be obvious MVP favorites were they having the same season as Allen. But they aren't. Josh Allen is.

Therefore, the question lies in whether NFL MVP voters can withstand the pressure. NBA voters could not.