Parker’s statement, which went viral almost immediately, elicited a response from Griffin III’s father, Robert Griffin II.
ESPN commentator Rob Parker has been suspended “until further notice” for remarks questioning Robert Griffin III’s blackness, according to a statement from ESPN.
Speaking on ESPN’s “First Take” Thursday, Parker detoured from a conversation about the Washington Redskins quarterback’s health and spilled into an unprompted critique of Griffin III that cast doubt upon his commitment to black culture.
"Is he a brother, or is he a cornball brother?" Parker asked.
"He's not real. OK, he's black, he kind of does the thing, but he's not really down with the cause. He's not one of us. He's kind of black, but he's not really, like, the guy you want to hang out with because he's off to something else.
"We all know he has a white fiancee. There was all this talk about how he's a Republican ... Tiger Woods was like, 'I've got black skin, but don't call me black.'"
Parker’s statement, which went viral almost immediately, elicited a response from Griffin III’s father, Robert Griffin II.
"He needs to define what 'one of us' is. That guy needs to define that," Griffin II said, according to USA Today. "I wouldn't say it's racism. I would just say some people put things out there about people so they can stir things up.
"Robert is in really good shape on who he is, where he needs to get to in order to seek the goals he has in life ... so I don't take offense."
Robert Griffin III reacted to Parker in a brief post on Twitter Thursday night: "I'm thankful for a lot of things in life and one of those things is your support. Thank you."
ESPN has not offered a timetable for Parker’s possible return to regular appearances on the network, instead saying it is in the process of "conducting a full review."