what do you think...

[emily]

This question was asked on a morning show on a radio station out of Little Rock...Power 92.3

Do you think that Robert Johnson was removed from his position as starter due to a racial issue, or was it simply because he was not getting the job done?

I think it might have been stated a little differently on the radio, but it is the same basic question....so what do you think?

** Eddie, if this is not something that should be asked, then feel free to delete! ;D

[heathwaldrop]

I think it's the dumbest question in the history of mankind.

If it was racial, why was Johnson the starter in the first place?
If it was racial, why was Johnson the starter last year through seven games?
If it was racial, why did Johnson replace Matt Jones off of the bench two years ago?
If it was racial, why did they bother signing Johnson at all--not to mention the rest of the black players on the team, who make up probably three-quarters of the players and about 80 percent of the starters?

Now I want somebody who thinks that it WAS racially-motivated not to give the reasons why they think that it was, but to give me one good reason why Johnson should remain as the starter over not only Mustain, but anybody else. It's not like he has set the world on fire during his FOUR years as a Razorback.

And I'm going to go a step further than that. There was a certain white running back by the name of Peyton Hillis who was starting early last season before being bumped out by a certain black running back named Darren McFadden. I can't ever remember anybody's playing the race card over it last year. But now just because it's a black guy, a black quarterback, in a high-profile situation, somebody's going to make an issue out of it just for the sake of politics and gossip. It's absolutely ludicrous.

I'm going to blame the white-run sports news media in this state for a lot of this. And yes, I realize that I'm a member of their number. The ONLY people who I've heard make this suggestion have been white hosts of sports call-in shows, clearly eager for a new angle and point of controversy. And since perception equals reality, we may have a case here where life imitates "art" and race becomes an issue when it wouldn't have been otherwise.

That's what I think.

[Outlaw85]

The race thing was brought up over at the Pigpen yesterday and just a few weeks ago a caller on Chuck Barretts show tried to say the only reason he was starting was because of his race. I think the race thing all a bunch of crap.

Robert Johnson is a good athlete and might possibly do well as QB of a 1AA ot D-II school. ROJO repeatedly made mitakes that any player with 4 years a program should not be making. He stated in the paper today that during the Mustains first drive he had lost the job. To me he was admitting Mustain is better and the future of Razorback football.

My personal thoughts on this is the coaches chose to start ROJO so as to not put too much pressure on the freshman and have his confidence shattered in the first game. Had Arkansas opened with ULM we might very well have seen Mustain starting from the beginning.

Rumor floating around today is Broyles forced the change and last night Clay Henry stated that the staff couldn't afford to give ROJO too much time as their jobs are on the line this year.

[Outlaw85]

One more thing Rbert Johnson wasn't even recruited as a QB. Arkansas brought him in to do what he is now doing, play WR.

[bobcatbacker88]

I TOTALLY DISAGREE THAT I THINK THIS IS RACIALLY MOTIVATED. BUT THIS IS WHAT I DO THINK, AND I REALIZE PEOPLE ARE GOING TO DISAGREE. I BELIEVE MUSTAIN HAS BEEN GOOD ENOUGH TO BE THE STARTED ALL ALONE. I DONT THINK THERE WAS ANYWAY THAT ARKANSAS WAS GONNA THROW THE GOLDEN BOY TO THE WOLVES(USC). NOW HE IS BEING PUT INTO AN ALMOST UNLOSEABLE SITUATION THIS WEEK AGAINST A HORRIBLE UTAH ST. TEAM. MUSTAIN WILL GO IN, PUT UP HUGE NUMBERS, AND EVERYONE WILL THINK HE IS THE ANSWER TO ALL OUR PROBLEMS, AND HE MIGHT VERY WELL BE, BUT I JUST THINK HE WAS PROTECTED IN THE USC GAME. rOBERT JOHNSON IS BEING MADE TO LOOK REALLY BAD HERE, AND EVEN THOUGH HIS NUMBERS WHERE NOT GREAT, HE WAS NOT THE REASON WE LOST EITHER.

[heathwaldrop]

You could be right and Outlaw thinks as you do, however, I don't see the connection between this and racial motivation...