With Caitlin Clark eliminated from the remainder of the WNBA playoffs, the sports media has naturally shifted its attention to its other favorite target: Bills superstar quarterback Josh Allen.
asserted
media → eliminate → target
Former ESPN host Bomani Jones has spent considerable energy trying to revive his media career by manufacturing a race war between fans of Allen and Lamar Jackson.
asserted
Jones → spend → Allen
Last month, Jones accused unnamed "white folks" of favoring Allen, despite acknowledging on multiple occasions that he favors Black quarterbacks.
asserted
he → accuse → quarterbacks
For the record, there is no evidence that white people broadly favor Allen over Jackson.
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people → be → Jackson
That's why Jones never gets around to naming these supposedly biased white people.
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Jones → get → people
Still, it's amusing to watch how determined he is to make Allen vs. Jackson a thing.
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Allen → watch → Jackson
And because his brand requires him to side with the Black athlete no matter the facts, he frequently invokes a senseless double standard in an attempt to justify his position.
asserted
he → require → position
Case in point: how he covered their game-losing interceptions this season.
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he → cover → interceptions
On Monday, Jones uploaded a YouTube clip belittling Allen under the headline "Josh Allen Is Still THAT Guy…"
asserted
Allen → upload → headline
During his critique, Jones called Allen a "moron" and suggested the Bills had made a mistake by deciding to live with his occasional recklessness.
uncertain
Bills → call → recklessness
"Look, [the Bills] cast their lot on the idea that we're just gonna live with Josh Allen and whatever he does, but that's not – I don't think that's what they're talking about.
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they → look → what
Like the idea isn't and every now and then be a moron," Jones said.
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Jones → say → ?
He then mocked the idea that Allen should be the MVP favorite or considered the best quarterback in the NFL.
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Allen → mock → NFL
"They still called him an MVP.
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They → call → him
We still talk that.
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We → talk → that
Remember how ready everybody was to make him the best quarterback in the league and everything else.
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him → remember → league
Are they still saying that now?
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they → say → that
I'm asking that."
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I → ask → that
Now, compare Jones' reaction to Jackson throwing a similar interception two weeks earlier in a last-second loss to the Saints.
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Jackson → compare → Saints
Jones acknowledged that Jackson continues to lose games late, even with a new coaching staff, but quickly cushioned the criticism by telling viewers that Jackson "is a sure-fire Hall of Famer and all of that."
Then came an alternative culprit: the receiver.
asserted
culprit → acknowledge → that
"I will say I felt like the way that Rashard Bateman reacted at that interception, it looked like he was the one that made the wrong move," Jones added.
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Jones → say → move
By the end, Jones emphasized that while Jackson struggled late, "he looked awesome, awesome for three quarters."
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he → emphasize → quarters
To recap: Jackson's interception was costly, but perhaps it wasn't his fault.
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it → recap → ?
And his receiver might actually deserve the blame.
uncertain
receiver → deserve → blame
Allen throws one, and he's a "moron."
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he → throw → one
There was also no sarcastic questioning of whether Jackson still belonged among the NFL's best quarterbacks, a designation Jones and his guests regularly apply to him.
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Jones → be → him
We first noticed this pattern in 2023, when Allen and Jackson lost in back-to-back weeks at home to the eventual Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs.
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Allen → notice → champion
Jackson played considerably worse against the same defense than Allen did.
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Allen → play → defense
He also threw another game-losing interception.
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He → throw → interception
Yet Jones reserved substantially more criticism for Allen.
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Jones → reserve → Allen
For background, Allen and Jackson are linked in the minds of the race idolaters for fairly simple reasons.
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Allen → link → reasons
They were drafted the same year and have spent most of their careers chasing Patrick Mahomes.
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They → draft → Mahomes
Allen is also a white quarterback from small-town America who posted inappropriate tweets as a teenager.
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who → post → teenager
Jackson is a black quarterback who was overlooked by at least one anonymous scout and, according to Jemele Hill, embraces his "people" like Allen Iverson.
uncertain
who → overlook → Iverson
To be clear, Jackson himself has never made his career about being black.
asserted
career → make → ?
The sports media assigned him that role.
asserted
media → assign → role
Bomani Jones is among those who insist on maintaining it.
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who → insist → it
They want a rivalry between the Big Bad White Quarterback and the Disrespected Black Quarterback.
asserted
They → want → Quarterback
It's an incredibly lazy framework, but they remain committed to it.
asserted
they → remain → it
Before the season, Jones claimed the media held Jackson to a higher standard than Allen, despite considerable evidence to the contrary.
asserted
media → claim → contrary
…and 19 more, not listed.
The Aporia
