Unfortunately, Houston Texans head coach Bill O’Brien needed to take time out of his press conference on Wednesday to address dumb, outdated comments that were made about starting quarterback Deshaun Watson following their 20-17 loss to the Titans on Sunday.
Bill O'Brien blasts racist comments made by Onalaska ISD superintendent Lynn Redden about @deshaunwatson: pic.twitter.com/Y4PC9NJRBr
— Mark Berman (@MarkBerman_) September 19, 2018
O’Brien’s comments stem from remarks made by a local school superintendent on an article published on the Houston Chronicle that talked about Watson’s performance on the final play of the game on Sunday.
“I really don’t want to waste a lot of time responding to outdated, inaccurate, ignorant, idiotic statements,” O’Brien said during the press conference. “I’ll just let Deshaun’s proven success on the field, his character off the field speak for itself.”
Lynn Redden, superintendent of the Onalaska Independent School District, said that Watson’s decision on the play was “inept” and that “when you need precision decision making you can’t count on a black quarterback.”
An East Texas superintendent wrote Sunday on Facebook that "you can't count on a black quarterback."
Deshaun Watson was asked if he experiences racism as a QB. https://t.co/SJeeWJnBUQ pic.twitter.com/0MCWN2vtdR
— ESPN (@espn) September 19, 2018
The play in question happened at the end of the fourth quarter when the Texans were trying to get into field goal range. Watson snapped the ball and bounced around in the pocket before completing a pass to DeAndre Hopkins. However, too much time burned off the clock and the Texans couldn’t get a field goal off in time.
It’s an absolute shame that we are in 2018 and ridiculous remarks like the ones Redden made are still prevalent in the NFL and in society today. Watson is a damn good quarterback and one play does not define him as a player or a person. Here’s to hoping that racism will die off in the near future.
