After a turbulent year in the “Monday Night Football” booth, Booger McFarland has been honing his chops on the ESPN analyst desk during the 2020 NFL season.
Amid a roundtable discussion about Dwayne Haskins on “Monday Night Countdown,” McFarland delivered a take that, well — let’s just say it will garner some attention.
McFarland, who drove fans crazy with his ridiculous takes as a Monday Night Football analyst before he was booted from the assignment, jumped on Dwayne Haskins’ self-destruction by lumping together. McFarland, now an ESPN studio analyst after a stint in the Monday Night Football booth, suggested too many of the NFL's predominantly young Black players are overly concerned with their 'brands. GETTY 'Monday Night Football' analyst Booger MacFarland watches a game between the Chicago Bears and the Seattle Seahwaks from a rolling platform 10 feet in the air at Soldier Field on September. McFarland has a great outlook, saying the experience of doing “Monday Night Football” was the closest he has come to the feeling of running out of the tunnel as a player and he wouldn’t trade that.
The Washington Football team released Haskins on Monday, a shocking decision considering it used a first-round draft pick on the Ohio State quarterback just last year. But when adding up Haskins’ performance on the field, his off-field COVID-19 protocol transgressions and the fact that Ron Rivera, in his first year in Washington, had nothing to do with drafting him, the move becomes a little less stunning.
While speaking with Randy Moss, Suzy Kolber and Adam Schefter, McFarland addressed Haskins’ issues and painted them as part of what he sees as a larger problem among NFL players.
Here’s what he had to say:
‘Especially young African American players ...’
I found this opinion by Booger McFarland in regards to Dwayne Haskins to be really wild. pic.twitter.com/dQsrVygUS7
— Chris Williamson (@CWilliamson44) December 28, 2020“Often times young players, especially — I’m gonna go ahead — especially young African-American players, because they make up 70 percent of this league — they come into this league and ask themselves the wrong thing,” McFarland said. “They come into the league saying not ‘how can I be a better player?’ They don’t say ‘how can I be a better teammate?’ They don’t say ‘how can I be a better person; how can get my organization over the hump?’
“Here’s what they come in saying. They come in saying ‘how can I build my brand better? How can I build my social media following better? How can I work out on Instagram and show everybody that I’m ready to go, but when I get to the game, I don’t perform?”
McFarland compares Haskins to JaMarcus Russell
McFarland’s take is not wholly unique. He recited commentary repeatedly levied by critics who take issue with members of the Millennial and Gen Z generations who don’t know a world without the internet or social media.
But he put his own spin on those broad-brush tropes on Monday and applied them to the very specific group that is the Black NFL player. He continued, calling Haskins out by name and holding him up alongside notable NFL bust, former Oakland Raiders No. 1 pick JaMarcus Russell.
“Dwayne Haskins unfortunately is not the first case that I’ve seen like this,” McFarland continued. “And it won’t be the last. And it bothers me because a lot of it is the young African-American player. They come in and they don’t take this as a business. It is still a game to them. ...
“I saw a quarterback do it. I saw JaMarcus Russell do it. The No. 1 pick in the draft, they gave him $40 million, and he threw it down the damn drain because he didn’t take it seriously.”
© Provided by Yahoo! Sports Booger McFarland held Dwayne Haskins up against another notable quarterback bust, JaMarcus Russell. (Jordon Kelly/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)Names that didn’t come up in his rant include Johnny Manziel, Ryan Leaf, Paxton Lynch and Jake Locker —other notable quarterback busts who obviously don’t meet his stated criteria for criticism on Monday.
The media game is a lot about gaining attention for what you write or say. Hot takes abound because they’re good for business. McFarland paused for a moment on Monday, interjecting “I’m gonna go ahead,” before diving in to his fiery take.
Anthony Mcfarland Monday Night Football
And he’s bound to get some attention on Tuesday, whether he likes it or not.
Booger Mcfarland Monday Night Football Twitter
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Booger McFarland may not be upsetting people while calling Monday Night Football games any longer, but he is still trending this week from some coments he made on ESPN.
Amid a roundtable discussion about Dwayne Haskins on “Monday Night Countdown,” McFarland delivered a take garnered heavy criticism.
Booger Mcfarland Monday Night Football Chair
While speaking with Randy Moss, Suzy Kolber and Adam Schefter, McFarland addressed Haskins’ issues and painted them as part of what he sees as a larger problem among Black NFL players.
“Often times young players, especially — I’m gonna go ahead — especially young African-American players, because they make up 70 percent of this league — they come into this league and ask themselves the wrong thing,” McFarland said. “They come into the league saying not ‘how can I be a better player?’ They don’t say ‘how can I be a better teammate?’ They don’t say ‘how can I be a better person; how can get my organization over the hump?’
“Here’s what they come in saying. They come in saying ‘how can I build my brand better? How can I build my social media following better? How can I work out on Instagram and show everybody that I’m ready to go, but when I get to the game, I don’t perform?”
Among the many people to call him out was Eli Apple’s mom.
Annie Apple took to Twitter and stated Booger was auditioning for FOX news with his comments about Black players.
Booger saw it and hit right back:
She still continued:
Booger Mcfarland On Monday Night Football
Haskins was released after struggling both on and off the field in Washington. He was benched multiple times and twice violated the league’s COVID-19 protocol.