Kimberley A. Martin Responds To Jim Irsay’s Rant In A One Liner
You’ve been awarded a commemorative dog whistle for your insane tirade. Even before they ate Thanksgiving meal, the attorneys managing the racial discrimination lawsuit against the NFL were giving them a great deal of discomfort. The owner of the Indianapolis Colts lost it on social media on Wednesday night, slamming ESPN’s Kimberley A. Martin for daring to refute Irsay’s ridiculous assertion that his 2014 DWI arrest was the result of his status as a “rich, white billionaire.”
Kimberley A. Martin Responds To Jim Irsay’s Rant In A One Liner
Rather of addressing the veteran NFL reporter by name during the broadcast on ESPN’s “First Take,” Irsay dubbed Martin “mean and ugly,” “a nothing burger,” and “the Woman that preceded Stephen A. (Smith).”
This is the Jim Irsay/First Take situation for anyone confused.@JimIrsay made a stir by saying on HBO’s Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel that his 2014 arrest came from prejudice against white billionaires. On First Take this morning, @stephenasmith + others said this about it: pic.twitter.com/6U2101UzTM
— Nash Henry (@NashJagsNats22) November 22, 2023
Irsay’s contentious remarks on his 2014 arrest were discussed on the ESPN morning program earlier on Wednesday.
“I am prejudiced against because I’m a rich, white billionaire,” Irsay stated. “If I’m just the average guy down the block, they’re not pulling me in, of course not.”
“I don’t care what it sounds like,” Irsay added. “It’s the truth. … I could give a damn what people think how anything sounds or sounds like. The truth is the truth, and I know the truth.”
Jim Irsay when they take away his Twitter account: pic.twitter.com/z2pzSwwMQk
— Andrew Harbaugh (@MandrewNFL) November 22, 2023
“And on 1st Take,the Woman that preceded Stephen A… how dare you pretend to know me; I don’t know your name and I don’t care to😡. If my Black Mother Dorthy was still alive..you’d be in some big Hot Water! You are mean and ugly🙃 Your a Nothing Burger😕,” he said on social media.
Martin responded to Irsay’s attack with a simple “You’re*” and changed her name on her X profile to “Woman that preceded Stephen A” in response, taking the criticism in stride.
Idk I’d be pretty pissed too if I was @JimIrsay. He generously gave their soon to be cancelled show a whole sit down interview where nothing was off limits and this is how @Andrea_Kremer and Bryant Gumbel treat him after the fact… Elitist bull crap from @RealSportsHBO pic.twitter.com/6P4PaGVlYV
— ColtsFanCole (@ColtsFanCole) November 22, 2023
Aside from its poor grammar and excessive use of capital letters, Irsay’s rant is problematic because it perpetuates stereotypes that have been used for generations to demean Black women.
This gets us to the main issue with Irsay’s outburst. There are now two racial discrimination cases against the NFL. In one, coach Brian Flores made the shocking claim that the league and a number of its teams are “rife with racism,” citing their unconscionable history of appointing Black and Brown head coaches.
Jim Irsay is on quite a grievance tweet storm today.
His tweet below seems aimed at these comments made by Chris Russo on First Take earlier today https://t.co/TzEPzT0G1d pic.twitter.com/ovtPYYPee5
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) November 22, 2023
The other was written by seasoned sportswriter Jim Trotter, who claimed he was let go from the NFL Network for constantly questioning commissioner Roger Goodell on the league’s lack of diversity.
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