Peyton Hillis

[Don Wassall]

Here'sa condensed version ofa Hillis interview with Dan Patrick

in which Hillis says that every team used racist taunts against him (or as Danny Boy calls it "grief and trash talking"; I wonder if he would be so generous if he was interviewing say a black hockey player who was subjected to racist remarks by every team in the NHL).

The interview is excerpted on Deadspin, the smirking pseudo-hip DWF site that gets a lot of traffic. The third comment down after the article (at least that's where it is as I post this), reads: What do you think the over/under is on the number of people at Caste Football who will masturbate furiously to this interview? I will accept numerical or percentage answers.

Peyton Hillis is OK With Being Called Chuck Norris

Every morning, the fine folks at Sports Radio Interviews sift through the a.m. drive-time chatter to bring you the best interviews with coaches, players, and personalities across the sports landscape. Today: the life of a white running back.


Peyton Hillis joined the Dan Patrick Show to discuss what made him expendable in Denver, was he angry at the Denver Broncos for trading him, does he understand the novelty of being a white running back in the NFL, is being a white running back a novel story for him, what was the worst trash talk he faced this season and what were the nicknames that opposing players called him as a white running back.


What happened that made you in expendable in Denver? Who made that decision?
"To tell you the truth I have no idea. I wouldn't know and when I left Denver I start new and fresh. I really didn't care to know. I don't know how all that went down. I think there was a lot of turmoil there anyway. I really didn't try to get into it."


Were you angry at the Denver Broncos at all?
"You know at first I was, but then you know I tried to create a new start in Cleveland. You know I kept praying that the good lord would send me to a place I would enjoy and people would want to use me and like me for the talents that I had. It looks like I got that there in Cleveland."


Do you understand the whole novelty of being a white running back in the NFL?
"No sir I don't. I try not be covenant to it. You know I just like to go out there and play my hardest because I know a lot of people don't have a lot faith in me and even if you have a good year or a bad year there still going to criticize you and say you're not good enough. It just gives me the motivation to go out there and do better."


If you look at history there are few white running backs who rush for 1,000 yards. It's a novel story:
"Yes sir. Well you know since the season is over I haven't heard too much about it, but you know during the season people would come to me and tell me how exciting it was to see that. It made me happy to know that first and foremost the good lord put me in the position to do it. Secondly, that I could give people hope. Just having that and hearing peoples mind and what they really think is huge to me."


You face a lot of grief and trashing talking in the NFL. What do the players say to you on teams like the New York Jets? Pittsburgh Steelers?
"Yes every team did. You know they'll say "You white boy you ain't gonna run on us today. This is ridiculous why are you giving offensive lineman the ball?" You know all kinds of stuff like that you hear on the field, but I use that to my advantage. I kind of soaked it in, ate it up a little bit because I enjoyed it."


The best nickname for you that I heard was "The Avalanche:
"You know I heard a lot of different nicknames. I heard that one. You know I heard "White Rhino." I heard, crap, umm"¦ "Chuck Norris," ah heck, I've heard it all. I kind of look down on that one just because you look at him as a overachiever. I didn't enjoy that one too much. I really haven't looked into. Whatever people want to think of me as I'll just let of them think it as that way. You know I just never got into nicknames much."


This post, written by Steven Cuce, appears courtesy of Sports Radio Interviews. For the complete highlights of the interview, as well as audio, click here.
http://deadspin.com/5737953/peyton-hillis-is-ok-with-being-called-chuck-norrisEdited by: Don Wassall

 

[foobar75]

None of this is the least bit surprising. I wonder, what would happen if McNabb, Vick, Garrard, or any of the other black quarterbacks came out and said, "Yes, the taunting happens every game. Hey boy, you ain't passing the ball on us today. Why are they even letting a running back play quaterback?"

Every media outlet would be all over this, demaning severe penalties and punishment for the alleged "racists".

But if a white man is on the receiving end of racial taunts, it's all good, nothing to see here, move along.

 

[Colonel_Reb]

Don, that comment you mentioned shows how little there is going on inside the average DWF's brain. I'm glad to know that such people are at least aware of CF, but it is very sad to see how dismissive some of them are even when proof is shoved right into their indoctrinated little faces. Hopefully more of them will wake up to the reality of anti-White discrimination in sports and society in general.

 

[whiteathlete33]

It's crap like this that makes we want to stop watching football all together.

 

[TheAnimal]

Don since this is a racial insult and the NFL has a strict disciplinary policy against this sort of thing when do you think the NFL will start it's investigation and what kinds of fines will be levied?

That's a good one.

The truth is this is another in an already long line of racism being openly shown towards whites as the NFL turns the other cheek.

 

[Don Wassall]

I've found three sites that picked up on Hillis's interview with Dan Patrick

in which Hillis says he was subjected to racist taunts by every team the Browns played against this season.All three are short articles and none seem particularly bothered byanti-White racism in the NFL.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/20/peyton-hillis-browns-white_n_811915.html

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/thehuddle/post/2011/01/peyton-hillis-says-teams-taunted-him-for-being-white-running-back/1

http://www.clevescene.com/scene-and-heard/archives/2011/01/20/peyton-hillis-talks-about-being-white

 

[Don Wassall]

Wow! This has to be read to be believed. It's from NBC Sports no less, and by the looks of the author's name he appears to be from the racial/religious tribe that absolutely no one is ever allowed to make disparaging remarks about, including black defensive players. Registered members can leave comments; there weren't any when I read it.

Was Peyton Hillis subjected to reverse racism for being a white running back? He thinksso


by Josiah Schlatter

Cleveland was dying for a local sports hero to take their minds off of the LeBron James debacle of 2010, and their cries of despair did not go unheeded as a gigantic lumberjack-man/new golden standard for biceps definition named Peyton Hillis stepped out of the shadows. His only obstacle? Racist linebackers!


Huffington Post: SI's Dan Patrick asked Hillis about the novelty of being a white running back in the NFL. Hillis said the topic is thrown in his face directly and indirectly, regularly. "I know a lot of people don't have a lot faith in me,"Â he said, "and even if you have a good year or a bad year they're still going to criticize you and say you're not good enough. It just gives me the motivation to go out there and do better."Â


Hillis said his complexion always came up on the field. "Every team did it," he said. "They'll say, ‘You white boy, you ain't gonna run on us today. This is ridiculous. Why are you giving offensive linemen the ball? All kinds of stuff like that you hear on the field, but I use that to my advantage. I kind of soaked it in, ate it up a little bit, because I enjoyed it."Â



Is this an example of the mysterious ‘reverse racism' everybody's saying exists now? Not to my knowledge. Most defensive players like to try and get inside a star player's head to feast on their insecurities as a human so when they receive a hand-off and hit a running lane they have the idea that they're a slow nobody with a stupid facemask who can barely tie his own shoelaces bouncing around their skull. Because Hillis is white, he noticed these comments a little bit more, and when Patrick asked him a touchy question, he went at it with the same bullheadedness he uses to perfection on the football field. There haven't been many great white running back hopes in recent memory, and defensive players are put on their heels a little bit because they have no idea how to insult Hillis without bringing race into the equation.


Seriously, how else would you try and put down the guy? "Your gargantuan biceps make you look like you could maybe kill the Predator!"Â "HA! You couldn't even beat out Darren McFadden and Felix Jones at Arkansas! WHAT A SCHLUB!"Â "You're going to look so stupid when your hairline recedes in 20 years!"Â "YOU HAVE BAD CUTICLES!"Â


When you're on the football field, insults are going to fly. It's a part of trying to win. If Hillis wants the white cracks to stop, he should try and develop some noticeable flaws to pick on instead.
http://offthebench.nbcsports.com/2011/01/21/was-peyton-hillis-subjected-reverse-racism-for-being-a-white-running-back-he-thinks-so/

 

[FootballDad]

I like to see the cracks in the caste system's armor. I'm here in Las Vegas for a show, and I spend a considerable amount of time speaking to a fellow from College Station, TX who has a son who is an exceptional HS running back. He was completely clueless about the caste system. As I spoke to him for a good 45 minutes, he couldn't figure out why, after all of the years, why coaches, scouts, ADs, at all levels, picked blacks. He figured that since they "know best", and that "they play the best talent", and "they are just getting the best players to win" that blacks must be best at "those" positions. I think that I was able to get enough doubt into his head that his eyes are opening.

 

[northwinds]

"There hadn't been many greatblack basballhopes in MLB history, so the whiteplayerswere put on their heels a little bit because they had no idea how to insultJackie Robinsonwithout bringing race into the equation."


Can you imagine a sports columnist writing that line?

 

[Highlander]

I've found three sites that picked up on Hillis's interview with Dan Patrick

in which Hillis says he was subjected to racist taunts by every team the Browns played against this season.All three are short articles and none seem particularly bothered byanti-White racism in the NFL.
<div></div>
<div>http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/20/peyton-hillis-browns-white_n_811915.html</div>
<div></div>
<div>http://content.usatoday.com/communities/thehuddle/post/2011/01/peyton-hillis-says-teams-taunted-him-for-being-white-running-back/1</div>
<div></div>
<div>http://www.clevescene.com/scene-and-heard/archives/2011/01/20/peyton-hillis-talks-about-being-white</div>

I noticed that even some of the comments on Culturally Marxist HP were backing Hillis and against this obvious double-standard. The comments on the USA Today article were almost all in support of Hillis and lambasting this double-standard. One commenter even mentioned how it all starts at the High School level and that in Pittsburgh, where he grew up, it starts even earlier than that...at the pee wee level, where if you're White and on a mixed team, there's no chance of you playing RB no matter how good you may be. He has either figured this out for himself, or CF is helping spread the word. The idiot at "clevescene" uses the term "Reverse Racism", one of the favorite idioms of the Cultural Marxist elite, which is all you need to know about him and how slanted that article will be without even reading it.

 

[Don Wassall]

Over 100,000 views for this thread. I love it!

 

[Colonel_Reb]

That is quite an article from NBC and it illustrates the double standard that exists for White and non-white athletes. CF's first thread with 100,000 views, with more to follow!

 

[white lightning]

Great articles guys. These are very exciting times. If only Hillis and Woodhead were still playing in the playoffs. Come on John Kuhn.

 

[Don Wassall]

Here's a very good article by Andrew Bailey of Bleacher Report. Check the comments afterwards (and add your own). Also, there's a poll asking if Hillis has been a victim of racism. So far, 83.2% say yes (out of 244 voting). Just like the Jeff Maehl article last week on Bleacher Report that got tens of thousands of views, this one likely will too.

Cleveland Browns' Peyton Hillis Is Talking About Race, Will Anyone Listen?

by Andrew Bailey

Peyton Hillis was one of the best running backs in the NFL this year. He ran for 1,177 yards and 11 touchdowns on 270 carries. He also made 61 receptions for 477 yards and two touchdowns. He finished sixth in the NFL in yards from scrimmage (ahead of Maurice Jones-Drew and Adrian Peterson).


In his third season, Hillis was finally given the opportunity to be a featured back for a whole year. Many Broncos fans thought that was going to happen for Hillis during 2009, following the stellar end to his rookie season for Denver in 2008.


Why Hillis never got a shot to play under Josh McDaniels remains a mystery. Some said Hillis didn't fit in the system (an argument that has clearly been proven wrong). Others felt McDaniels had it out for Hillis from the start, because of a rumor that Hillis had hit on his coach's wife (which was later reported to be 100 percent false).


Hillis himself recently hinted that he never got a real chance in Denver because of his skin color (something I've also speculated).On the Dan Patrick Show, Hillis said about his year under McDaniels, "In Denver, they just wanted me to play strictly fullback, nothing else. I wasn't too happy about the situation, but I was trying to be a team player."

He continued, "I just wanted to be on the field. It ended up I didn't play anything at all."Â￾



Some who have already commented on this interview, are calling it reverse racism. To me, calling it "reverse" racism significantly cheapens the issue. I cannot understand why many feel the term racism can only be applied when it's perpetuated by a white person.


However, that's an entirely different story.


Regarding Hillis, it's difficult to find any other reason why he was almost never on the field in 2009.


In seven games as a rookie in 2008, Hillis racked-up seven touchdowns and 522 yards from scrimmage on 82 touches. Because of injuries, he started two games at tailback toward the end of the season.


Against the Jets that year, he had 129 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries.


It looked as though Denver had a running back they could build around for the future. That is, until Josh McDaniels drafted Knowshon Moreno in the first round in 2009.


Despite generally lackluster play from Moreno in 2009, Hillis never gained a significant role in McDaniels' system.


Following his trade to Cleveland this past offseason, we all got to see exactly what the Broncos had given up on.



Even with his great success, Hillis is still facing racism. Only now, it's coming from opposing linebackers instead of his head coach.


In the same interview with Dan Patrick, Hillis explained, "Every team did it. They'll say, 'You white boy, you ain't gonna run on us today. This is ridiculous. Why are you giving an offensive lineman the ball?'"


Hillis says he has and will continue to use the racism as motivation to play well and prove his doubters wrong.


I can only hope he is successful with that cause.


There is an unfair stigma surrounding white athletes which promotes the idea that they are physically incapable of elite athleticism because of their skin color.


The sooner the media, managers and coaches in sports stop judging players by their skin color, the better off the professional sports world will be.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/583399-cleveland-browns-peyton-hillis-is-talking-about-race-will-anyone-listen

 

[Westside]

Don,

Another great article, but to be frank, surprised that what we feel here at CF is now being put out there for everyone to read, which is great.

The line I like the best is, "will continue to use the racism as motivation to play well and prove his doubters wrong". Also, those two last sentences of the article are pretty good as well.

 

[Toby Hillis]

If you have a Bleacher Report account, hit the "Like" button at the bottom of the article; it'sright under the last sentencein the article. The more "Like(s)" the better! Edited by: Toby Hillis

 

[JReb1]

It should be noted that Hillis IS NOT complaining about the racism he been unfairly subjected to but that he keeps getting asked about race (in almost every interview) and being a White RB that he has to answer and he has avoided being blunt or whining about race or racism.

 

[Colonel_Reb]

The only part of that article I don't like is when he said Hillis was finally given the opportunity to be the featured back for the whole season. That isn't true. After injuries to black RBs, he was made the starter for the third game. Other than that, it is a great article. I hit the "Like" button and voted yes on the poll.

 

[JReb1]

<h1>Browns seeking quick running back</h1>
Here are a couple of whispers we've heard recently from around the AFC North:
One position of need for the Browns: finding a back to complement the bruising Peyton Hillis</span> in Pat Shurmur's version of the West Coast offense, the way we hear it. The return of Montario Hardesty</span>,
who missed the 2010 season with a knee injury, will improve the club's
RB depth, but he's a physical back like Hillis, and a quicker back would
be a good addition to the offense.


http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news;_ylt=AtEwRl9vbH3P4LNx7f97LRL.uLYF?slug=pfw-20110122_browns_seeking_quick_running_back

 

[SuperSpeed23]

How about jake sharp to fill the quick runningback role.

 

[snow]

Are the Bucs looking for a quicker back for Blount? What about the Jets? LT was fast earlier in his career, but now is slow, and rarely breaks off a 20+ yard run, and Shonn Greene is even slower, a season long of 21, with such great run blocking to go along you would think they would have more, are they looking for a quicker back? I know they have McKnight but hes never going to see the field. What about the Bengals? Benson looked slow last year and averaged 3.5 ypc, or the Rams, yeah Steven Jackson timed fast, but hes looking stiffer each year. I doubt any of these teams are "looking for a quicker back".

13 backs were drafted last year, only Ryan Matthews had any real success as a starter (besides Gerhart who did well when he finally got to start a game), and Matthews was injured quite a bit, which should have been predicted because he didn't stay healthy in the WAC, and fat and slow Tolbert came in and performed on a similar level, so its more to do with blocking than talent. Some of the top backs draftedhad low yards per carry, like Best who was outperformed by 30 year old Maurice Morris, I think he averaged 3.2 ypc. CJ Spiller didn't do much, I think Gerhart had more yards than him as a backup, and also a higher ypc, and even a longer run than the "speedster", Spiller only had one long run, it was 20 yards.

None of the scatbacks panned out last year.I believe thetop rookies were Blount and Chris Ivory, both slow guys and undrafted. Towards the end of the season Ivory couldn't stay healthy for an entire game, but the Saints have him in their plans for the future, and may get rid of Reggie Bush, leaving Ivory and Pierre Thomas, both slow backs. Hillis is faster than all of these guys I mentioned except Steven Jackson that don't have "quicker" backs to come in. Edited by: snow

 

[Paleocon]

Instead of a quicker back maybe they should just look for a competent back-up to give Hillis a breather occasionally. Improving the passing game would help too.

The problem with finding a back-up for Hillis is that he will be the better third-down back, the better receiving back, the better goal line/short yardage back, and the starting running back. So really the Browns should just be looking for a back that allows them to keep Hillis fresh rather than a guy for a specific role.

 

[Riddlewire]

Since when does the WCO require great depth at runningback?
Hillis (assuming he gets to keep his job) will get 14 carries/game. He's certainly not going to get beat up in the WCO. And NOBODY has better hands coming out of the backfield than Peyton Hillis. This is all a smokescreen. Reid doesn't want a white runningback. This is his 'cover' for replacing Hillis.

 

[Toby Hillis]

Since when does the WCO require great depth at runningback?
Hillis (assuming he gets to keep his job) will get 14 carries/game. He's certainly not going to get beat up in the WCO. And NOBODY has better hands coming out of the backfield than Peyton Hillis. This is all a smokescreen. Reid doesn't want a white runningback. This is his 'cover' for replacing Hillis.

Great points. That B/R article now has over 800 votes and 82% of the people voting answered 'yes' to the question, "Was Peyton Hillis a victim of racism?" Now, I think they are saying he was a victim of racism as far as the "white boy" comments, but I would bet that the majority of those 82% would also agree that Peyton was avictim of stereotyping. The point is that people are slowly starting to wake up--there's no doubt about it. If the Browns replace Hillis after his productive season, I won't like it, you or anybody on this site won't like it BUT that could be the tipping point, the thing that sobers up the DWFs in droves.

 

[texasheat]

Tell you what, wouldn't you agree that Peyton Hillis has done more for bringing down the temple of caste football arrogance & stupidity than any other individual? Toby Gerhart was -- and IS huge. So is Danny Woodhead, Sam McGuffie, etc. But Hillis and his 1000 yard season has had many a DWF wake up to what's going on around here.

Like some of the other posters have commented on, it is great to see comments on USA Today, Bleacher Report, Huffington Post, etc that SUPPORT Hillis, not try & tear him down. The articles may have been short, but I am glad they published it. I'm an optimist and I think while cracks in the caste system showed up previously, Hillis tore a hole in it this year. We can only hope more will follow!

P.S. For DWF's who don't read many websites, the Dan Patrick interview is re-printed in his weekly column for this week's Sports Illustrated -- so that should also get some eyeballs on what's going on here.