Dear Daunte,
I got your email homie, well actually I didn't it looks like you blackballed BSO the same way you claimed NFL teams have blackballed you, but I digress. Anyway I read your email about retiring from the NFL and I thought it would be best that we had a little chat.
First we can stop beating around the bush. You don't have to be politically correct with me. You can say what you really want to say. You don't have to be scared I can read between the lines. What you really are trying to say is:
THE NFL IS SCARED TO EMPLOY A BLACK MAN WHO REPRESENTS HIMSELF.
Unfortunately Daunte you are a little off with that one. While trust me there is a lot racism and prejudice in the NFL and there is a lot of bias in the mainstream media the reason you aren't employed has a lot more to do with you that it does with them.
NFL Owners can be considered a "Good Old Boys" club. A bunch of rich white guys sitting on top of their thrones looking down at their highly paid gladiators do there bidding.
But lets be real here to NFL owners it doesn't matter if you are red, white, green, yellow or black if you can help them win football games they don't care. Now if you want to own a team, be a general manager or even a coach you may have a harder time because they like to hire people that look like them, but when it comes to on the field all they care about is if you are going to perform.
For years Black QBs have had a hard time breaking into the league but in 2008 while I am sure some people (mostly fans) are not totally comfortable with a black man leading their team I am confident the organizations themselves are going to put the best player out on the field regardless of color.
So which begs the question Daunte why don't you have a job? In my opinion there are a couple of reasons.
I- You haven't been the same since Moss left the building.
I think we have the answer to whom was more valuable to who.
II- You haven't been the same since your knee was Mcgaheed.
Simply put part of the reason you were so successful was because you were a dangerous QB on the run. You aren't as effective in the pocket and you telegraph a lot of your passes. That was ok when you had Cris Carter and Randy Moss catching passes not so much with average receivers.
III- You overestimated your worth.
You had two offers this offseason from playoff teams and you turn them both down because you felt that you were entitled to something better. So you can't get mad when nothing better came along. Sometimes you have to start from the bottom up.
IV- You talk to much.
If I owned a business and I was trying to decide who I wanted to hire am I going to hire the person who consistently bad mouths my organization even implying there maybe racial overtones if they don't get hired or am I going to hire the person who maybe a little less talented but if all about the company, all about proving himself and not ready to play the blame game if he doesn't get picked for the job?
V- You don't have an agent.
Which is within your right, but it is also within the right of the team to not be comfortable dealing with a player without an agent. Not a black or white thing it is a comfortable thing. You decided you want to be your own agent and to be honest you aren't a very good one.
Simply put Daunte you aren't well liked around the league by the people who make the decisions to employ you. Is it fair maybe not, but it is the truth.
Look big homie you are too young to retire, but you need to stop being so stubborn go hire Drew Rosenhaus and get back in the league because to be honest there are too many garbage QBs out there for you to be unemployed. Swallow your pride, realize everything is not always about race and get back in the game.
Sincerely,
Bona Fide Sports Expert Robert Littal
I couldn't have said it better myself
Nice