While everybody else is drinking the new batch of O.J. or trying to squeeze in the back of a "Crown Vick," or checkin' a chick and her Beli, I mean Belly, I'm going to take a right turn into some other territory. It's something that's been on my mind for awhile and has been the topic of some conversations since the beginning of this season.

So, here we go.

Black quarterbacks don't get the same treatment as white QBs do. What! Oh my goodness it can't be true! Quarterbacks with darker skin get sort-leashed, while white QBs can get passed around like an after-show, after-party groupie and no one cares?!

The blasphemy! The horror! Once again we've been bamboozled, hoodwinked, had the wool pulled over our eyes! Damn....

For real, who cares? Most black football fans know the drill. We know there are only five starting NFL QBs. We know the press always has an eye out to dog those starters.

We know that the verbiage gets real slippery when it applies to us. 'He needs to stop running and learn how to read defenses,' they say. "Why is he trying to be something he's not? He's not a classic drop back quarterback like Peyton Manning or Carson Palmer. Why doesn't he use his god-given ability and make something happen when the play breaks down.'

We can't escape it. It's there for the world to see. The thing is, everybody knows it, white and black. It's just that only a few of us will genuinely talk about it.

What we don't need is someone who has made a career out of being non-committal about these issues to suddenly start talking about racism in the NFL and how it pertains to the quarterback position like he's been trying to say this all along. None of us needs Donovan McNabb to tell us about race and racism; needs for him to suddenly attempt go black before our very eyes.

DMac came into the league firmly committed to breaking stereotypes about black quarterbacks. He didn't want to talk about being black, didn't want to be referred to as a black QB. He wanted to be known as Donovan McNabb, quarterback of the Eagles, nothing more, nothing less.

Now, McNabb wants to call racism, like it's fresh out of the box.

Normally, I'd think of defending McNabb's statements on HBO's Real Sports, as undoubtedly many black and perhaps even some white sports journalists will do. Normally I'd say, go ahead, man, it's about time somebody said something. Normally I'd shake down the thunder and call the names of those who set up the ruse in the first place, as well as those who perpetuate it today.

Normally, I would.

But this time I can't.

Like I said, McNabb didn't want any part of "black quarterback" when he was drafted with the #2 overall pick in the NFL Draft in 1999 by the Eagles. McNabb was, through his play and his silence on that issue was going to force one of the most openly racist cities north of the Mason-Dixon Line to judge him based solely on performance and how he handled himself in the good and the bad times. McNabb wanted to be judged as all Americans are purported to be judged: by their merit.

He parlayed that non-racialized perception into a long-running Campbell's Chunky Soup advertisement campaign. And this was way back in 2001, McNabb's third year in the league. In only his second season, he led Philadelphia to an 11-5 record and its first playoff appearance in five years. He was also an MVP runner-up.

By 2004 McNabb and his Eagles, after three straight NFC Championship appearances broke through and made it to the Super Bowl. McNabb and new teammate, wideout Terrell Owens, combined for a magical season. In the Super Bowl, though, with Philadelphia down 24-21, McNabb has a chance to gain football immortality by leading his team down the field for at least a game-tying field goal attempt. But by all accounts, he fell apart.

It was reported that he puked in the huddle and that he was hyperventilating so badly that he couldn't call the plays. He was called out for choking by teammates. And a few months later, his so-called friend, Terrell Owens, began his bitter hold out.

Where was he when T.O. was getting spared no rod from the Eagles management? He was awfully quiet and pretty much a company man. How McNabb turned his back on Owens effectively ruined his credibility with at least half of your teammates. He let Hugh Douglas, aka the "Massa's House Man," talk for him as he attempted to crush T.O.'s spirit. This is the same Hugh Douglas, who, as a member of the media, against NFL rules, walked into the Eagles training facilities, confronted Owens and started a fight. Douglas then twisted the story to friendly members of the press to make it appear that he was in the right the whole time.

This is the same Hugh Douglas that the world saw - the world that cared, anyway - on NFL Network trying to work his magic House Man act on Jack Del Rio. Hugh was in the lens so much it seemed he was the featured character in the documentary on J-ville. Turns out he was, until he got cut, that is.

But for McNabb, this is what happens when a man sits on the fence. Everybody shoots at him without compunction. Each time McNabb declared himself the team leader, his teammates have spoken out against the very thought of his perceived role. Meanwhile the media strafed him, even after wins. Rather than say something years ago, McNabb kept silent.

When the Eagles drafted quarterback Kevin Kolb this offseason, McNabb was suddenly miffed and hurt that the Eagles would draft a potential replacement for him. McNabb's main ally, Brian Dawkins tried to come to his aid by saying the QB was only upset because the Eagles stated need was in the defensive backfield and thought that the first round draft pick was better used on a cornerback or safety. But McNabb didn't take the cue from Dawkins and continued to complain to the press.

Both Dawkins and McNabb have seen enough of Jeffrey Lurie the Eagles owner and head coach Andy Reid's tactics to know that no player on the Philadelphia team is protected from being unceremoniously traded or released. If either or both fail this season, the Eagles management will take a long, hard look at their salaries versus their football life span - and who knows where they might be when the first game of the 2008-09 season is played. But it is McNabb's statements that will be played up by the Philadelphia and national media.

Why? Because he is a starting quarterback in the National Football League who seems to be feeling very insecure about the Eagles drafting a relatively unknown quarterback who is a good two or three years away from playing in Andy Reid's offensive system. Why? Because McNabb is known for failing in the clutch more than his is winning big games. Why? Because he is a black starting quarterback.

And the answers to the whys are in that order.

He knows he rushed his rehab and isn't 100% . He should have made that known. He didn't and if he says something about it now, it will look like an excuse for his spotty early play. He knows he has no contract extension and the Eagles will take a huge cap hit next season because of his contract. There's nothing wrong with letting the press know how important this season is financially; it can be done tactfully without giving the impression that he is pining for a new deal through the press. When McNabb does complain this offseason, it will be too late, and in negotiations, Eagles management will have the upper hand. All complaints then will be viewed as whining.

However, now Donovan McNabb is telling the world that there is a disparity in the manner in which black and white QBs are treated. Now, that it appears that the writing is on the wall for the veteran and that his time in the City of Brotherly Love is limited, he wants to speak out against the injustices incurred by black players at his position, especially himself.

Though he might garner some sympathy in some corners because he stated his case with his usual calm, he gets none here.

Donovan McNabb appears to be just another self-centered athlete who, despite his well-cultivated image, could care less about the slights suffered by black quarterbacks - unless, of course, his butt is on the line.

Oh well.