Jason Whitlock calls out Shannon Sharpe over racist watermelon outrage: 'I know it's a gimmick'
Outkick sports writer Jason Whitlock grilled Shannon Sharpe after the Hall of Fame tight end insinuated Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy was being racially insensitive by smashing watermelons in order to motivate his team.
McCarthy reportedly pulled out a sledgehammer and smashed watermelons with different objectives written on them during the Cowboys' team meeting Saturday night ahead of their matchup against the Minnesota Vikings. The stunt was an imitation of prop comic Gallagher and the players reportedly loved it. Defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence even got involved, taking a turn swinging the sledgehammer.
But Sharpe didn't think the stunt was funny. He blasted McCarthy on Tuesday, saying, "Dear white America, any time you have black people in your presence, watermelon has a negative connotation."
Whitlock sounds off
"I'm not sure what Shannon Sharpe is thinking," Whitlock said Wednesday, filling in for BlazeTV's Glenn Beck on his radio show. "Who lives this way ... constantly looking for something to be offended by?"
"The Dallas Cowboys, like most of the NFL, 70% probably [are] black players on that roster. DeMarcus Lawrence, the defensive lineman gets up [and] smashes the watermelon, too," he continued. "It didn't mean a damn thing to them because they're not thinking of, 'How can I be controversial on TV' and 'How can I accuse a white person of being racist?'
"That's not a common thought for most people," he added.
Jason Whitlock: "REPULSIVE" to Suggest Dallas Cowboys Coach is Racist for Watermelon Stunt youtu.be
What else?
Whitlock defended McCarthy against the baseless attack and went even further to make the case that Sharpe's outrage was actually disingenuous.
"Mike McCarthy, I've known him for years. I've been a critic of him as a football coach," Whitlock noted. "But there is not a shred of evidence that he's racist ... and to just willy-nilly throw in that tag on him to get through a television segment is repulsive to me.
"I've known Shannon Sharpe just as long," he continued. "And I know it's a gimmick. I know he doesn't believe it."
Whitlock, who has always been outspoken about racial and political issues, has been making headlines this week. On Tuesday, he went on an emotional tear, explaining how modern-day liberals are the "ideological descendants" of slaveholders and accused them of "imposing mental slavery" on black people.
Sports Writer: "REPULSIVE" to Suggest Dallas Cowboys Coach is Racist for Watermelon Stunt