ESPN analyst Rod Gilmore recently had a galaxy brain take for the ages about Oregon coach Mario Cristobal.
During the team’s past game against Arizona, Cristobal cut loose on receiver Kris Hutson after his post-catch antics drew a flag that hurt the team. (RELATED: David Hookstead Is The True King In The North When It Comes To College Football)
Cristobal was clearly pissed, and to Hutson’s credit, he took his verbal lashing like a man after a bonehead mistake.
How to get on Mario Cristobal’s 💩 list… pic.twitter.com/liyufzifeu
— Mr.CollegeFootball (@ScoDucks1998) September 26, 2021
However, Gilmore tried to invoke racial imagery to explain his dislike for the situation. In response to Doug Gottlieb tweeting the video, he wrote, “Moreover, the image of a 51 year old White man berating a young Black man so publicly rubs a lot of us the wrong way. Especially w/all the racial injustice. Bad optics. U can deliver the lesson w/o flexing your power & control. It did not make Black parents I know happy.”
Moreover, the image of a 51 year old White man berating a young Black man so publicly rubs a lot of us the wrong way. Especially w/all the racial injustice. Bad optics. U can deliver the lesson w/o flexing your power & control. It did not make Black parents I know happy.
— RodGilmore@espn (@RodGilmore) September 27, 2021
Give me a break. Cristobal tearing into Hutson had nothing to do with race or “racial injustice.” That was a coach putting a young man on blast for hurting his teammates.
I don’t care if you’re black, white or a different race, if you cost your team and you have a coach who gives a damn, you’re going to hear about it.
Cristobal did nothing wrong and even gave a great explanation for his action. The Oregon head coach stated the following about the situation, according to 247Sports:
My perspective is that Kris and I have a real relationship and a real agreement with accountability standards. That was a big play that hurt the team, and it required a strong and intense verbal message that reestablished our accountability standards for clarity on that. I think that was achieved. I respect Kris. He respects me. We respect the process. We can’t hurt the team. I trust him. Obviously we want to get him back into the game with a clear mind and to attack the opportunity and to go win the game and that’s what we did, and that’s what I did.
Yeah, if there’s one thing we know about racists it’s that they often talk about how much they respect their victims and how important accountability is for a team. Sounds like it’s coming straight out of the mouth of a Confederate general.
If Gilmore is truly offended by Cristobal’s actions and think they might have been racist, then he’s in the wrong sport.