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Super Bowl Champ Doubles Down After Getting Blasted For Saying He’s ‘Sick’ Of ‘White Guys’ Commenting On Football
Former Super Bowl champion Rashard Mendenhall doubled down after getting blasted for saying he’s “sick” of “white guys” commenting on football and proposed an “All-Black vs. All-White Bowl” instead of the annual Pro Bowl.
In a Monday post on X, the retired Pittsburgh Steelers running back said he’s “simply tired of being berated by people who aren’t experts in [the] game” after being called “racist” by followers for slamming “white” NFL analysts.
“We [just] pretend like I’m the only athlete tired of fans talking trash?” he added. “You [this] upset over a single tweet. What about us? Like me or not, I’m a GREAT in football. This proves my point, [you] can’t speak on ball alone.”
Simply tired of being berated by people who arent experts in de game. We jus pretend like I’m the only athlete tired of fans talking trash? You dis upset over a single tweet. What about us? Like me or not, I’m a GREAT in football. This proves my point, u can’t speak on ball alone
— Rashard Mendenhall (@R_Mendenhall) December 18, 2023
Mendenhall’s remarks followed a viral post from earlier in the day that said, “I’m sick of average white guys commenting on football. Y’all not even good at football.”
“Can we please replace the Pro Bowl with an All-Black vs. All-White bowl so these cats can stop trying to teach me who’s good at football,” he added. “I’m better than ur goat.”
I’m sick of average white guys commenting on football. Y’all not even good at football. Can we please replace the Pro Bowl with an All-Black vs. All-White bowl so these cats can stop trying to teach me who’s good at football. I’m better than ur goat.
— Rashard Mendenhall (@R_Mendenhall) December 18, 2023
As of Tuesday afternoon, the post has 68.5 million views. It followed his earlier post slamming criticism of the Steelers and coach Mike Tomlin after the team’s loss Sunday to the Indianapolis Colts, 30-13.
I don’t understand how you can talk about Tomlin’s playoff record, without acknowledging that Kenny Pickett has only played one year. Who was the QB for all those playoff loses?!! Literally all of them. Make up your minds. How you arbitrarily separate Mike & Ben in de W/L column?
— Rashard Mendenhall (@R_Mendenhall) December 18, 2023
Reading through comments to the former Steelers’ latest post, people hit back and wrote that they were “upset that you’re a racist” and wanted him to apologize for the initial viral post.
“You literally made a living playing a game because of the fans and then you say racist things to those same people,” one person replied. “You’re not the victim here.”
Another added, “You’re the one who made it about white people. Don’t complain now if you’re getting dragged. Frankly, you deserve it. Everybody knows why you chose to assign a [color] to the generic non-athlete with an opinion. Racist.”
While a third wrote, “People aren’t upset over the majority of that tweet…They are upset over you bringing race into it. You could have easily called out any non-college athlete, non-pro football player, etc… but you turned it into a race focus. That’s on you.”
“If that’s how you really feel, just own it,” the person added. “You’ll alienate yourself, but you’ll be honest if that’s the case. If it’s not really how you feel, apologize and restate. Either option is legit as we have a right to free speech here.”
Mendenhall played for the Steelers from 2008-2012 and won a Super Bowl ring in 2009 when the team beat the Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII, Fox News noted. However, he failed to get a second ring after he ended up fumbling the ball in Super Bowl XLV following a hit by Packers’ Clay Matthews and the eventual team loss to Green Bay, 31-25.