Congratulations, Jim Irsay.
Your unhinged rant has earned you a commemorative dog whistle. Given the lawyers handling the racial discrimination case against the NFL some serious heartburn, too, even before they sat down for Thanksgiving dinner.
The Indianapolis Colts owner melted down on social media Wednesday night, attacking ESPN’s Kimberley A. Martin because she dared criticize Irsay’s absurd claim that his 2014 DWI arrest was because he was a “rich, white billionaire.” Irsay called Martin ‘mean and ugly’ and ‘a nothing burger,’ and referred to her as ‘the Woman that preceded Stephen A. (Smith)’ during the segment on ESPN’s ‘First Take’ rather than calling the longtime NFL reporter by her name.
Irsay, who is white, also claimed to have a ‘Black Mom.’ And since everyone knows having Black friends means you can’t be racist, having a Black ‘mom’ must make you super immune to bigotry.
‘If my Black Mother Dorthy was still alive .. you’d be in some big Hot Water!’ Irsay fumed to Martin.
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Martin took the insult in stride, changing the name on her X profile to ‘Woman that preceded Stephen A’ and responding to Irsay’s attack with a simple ‘You’re*’.
But the problem with Irsay’s screed, aside from the bad spelling and overuse of capital letters, is it echoes the tropes that have been used to dehumanize Black women for centuries.
Irsay might not have called Martin an ‘angry Black woman,’ but he might as well have. Dorthy Bloodsaw might have had a profound impact on Irsay’s life, but in describing her role in raising him, and his children, he reduces her to a quintessential mammy caricature.
‘The trope painted a picture of a domestic worker who had undying loyalty to their slaveholders, as caregivers and counsel,’ according to an article on the ‘Popular and Pervasive Stereotypes of African Americans’ on the National Museum of African American History and Culture’s website.
‘Considered a trusted figure in white imaginations, mammies represented contentment and served as nostalgia for whites concerned about racial equality.’
It was also notable that out of all the people who criticized Irsay’s privileged ignorance, and there were many, the only person Irsay went after personally was Martin.
Even when Andrea Kremer asked Irsay if he realized what it sounded like for him, a wealthy and privileged white man, to cry discrimination, he got defensive and even a little angry. But he didn’t berate Kremer. When the interview aired Tuesday night on HBO’s ‘Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel,’ Irsay didn’t get on social media and savage Kremer and question her credentials.
No, he saved that for Martin. A Black woman.
Which brings us to the biggest problem with Irsay’s rant. The NFL is currently the subject of two racial discrimination lawsuits. One is by coach Brian Flores, who said the league and several of its teams are ‘rife with racism,’ pointing to their shameful record of hiring Black and brown head coaches. The other is by veteran sports journalist Jim Trotter, who said he was fired from the NFL Network for repeatedly challenging commissioner Roger Goodell on the league’s shortcomings on diversity.
As part of his lawsuit, Trotter named two owners, Jerry Jones of the Dallas Cowboys and Buffalo Bills owner Terry Pegula, whom he said made racially charged statements. This after current Houston Texans owner Cal McNair had to issue an apology for using a racial slur during the team’s charity golf tournament in 2021. Which is not to be confused with his late father, who made the ‘inmates running the prison’ comment about players protesting for social justice.
And, of course, who can forget former Washington owner Dan Snyder defiantly clinging to a racist nickname for years until sponsors forced his hand.
Now add to this Irsay’s tirade, which, if it isn’t an obvious display of racism, it’s uncomfortably close.
The NFL has tried to downplay or distance itself from all of these examples, insisting it is not discriminatory or racist. But when things like this occur with the frequency they do in the NFL, it makes it harder and harder to deny.
Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on social media @nrarmour.
