Houston Texans players and coaches are rallying around DeShaun Watson after a Texas school official made a racist post about the quarterback on social media.
Onalaska ISD Superintendent Lynn Redden is being criticized after making a facebook post saying, “you can’t trust a black quarterback.” Redden made the post after the Texans lost to the Titans in Tennessee on Sunday. Houston head coach Bill O’Brien called the comment “idiotic.”
“In this day and age, it’s just amazing that BS exists,” said O’Brien. “But it does. We’re moving forward. And our fans, they love Deshaun.”
Bill O’Brien blasts racist comments made by Onalaska ISD superintendent Lynn Redden about @deshaunwatson: pic.twitter.com/Y4PC9NJRBr
— Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) September 19, 2018
Defensive star J.J. Watt also voiced support for Watson, calling Redden’s post “very unfortunate.”
.@JJWatt rips racist comments made by Onalaska ISD superintendent Lynn Redden about @deshaunwatson: “I don’t think it deserves any attention from any of us. I think it’s a very ignorant comment…Very unfortunate. I trust him. I trust him a whole lot.” #Texans pic.twitter.com/gkKBPSn61T
— Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) September 19, 2018
Redden said he regrets the post and that it was meant to be a private message. But Redden also tried to justify the remark by telling the Houston Chronicle that he was pointing to the “limited success” black quarterbacks have had “over the history of the NFL.” Texans corner Jonathan Joseph slammed Redden’s explanation. He says the apology is insincere.
“You’d think in this day and age, in 2018, you probably wouldn’t be hearing any comments like that, but for whatever reason that’s the world we live in,” Joseph said. “Sometimes, that’s just the way it is.”
Johnathan Joseph (@JJOE2424) slams racist comments made by Onalaska ISD superintendent Lynn Redden about @deshaunwatson: “The apology wasn’t sincere when u make a comment like u thought it was a private message..That makes you look even more silly than the whole statement itself” pic.twitter.com/C0eaMB232n
— Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) September 19, 2018
Meanwhile, Watson is shrugging off the controversy. He says experiencing this kind of racism isn’t new.
“It’s part of life,” said Watson. “I can’t control other people and what their beliefs are. I can control what I can control. I just focus on me, and that’s it.”
