stood by statements he made which suggested that there is a double standard for black quarterbacks in the NFL. In the piece, McNabb told interviewer James Brown that he believes there is still some resistance to black quarterbacks, and that they always have to "do a little extra."
"I don't regret it," McNabb said Wednesday. "I don't regret it at all. I stand by my comments."
Nearly all of McNabb's 11-minute press conference was a verbal volley between the quarterback and members of the media who were trying to pin down exactly what McNabb meant in the interview. He said at one point that he feels he was asked questions that would not be asked of white quarterbacks in the same situation, a statement that seemed to bother many members of the media in attendance.
McNabb had no problem answering questions regarding the HBO interview.
McNabb's main assertion in the HBO interview was that while white quarterbacks are judged only on wins and losses, black quarterbacks are questioned about certain mistakes win or lose.
"I pass for 300 yards, our team wins by seven, 'Oh, he could have made this throw here. We would have scored more points if we would have done this,'" McNabb told Brown.
When Brown responded by asking whether McNabb thought prominent white quarterbacks like Indianapolis' Peyton Manning, Cincinnati's Carson Palmer and New England's Tom Brady had it easier, McNabb said, "Let me start by saying, I love those guys. But they don't get criticized as much as we (black quarterbacks) do. They don't."
On Wednesday, McNabb would not provide specifics as to what questions black quarterbacks are asked that white quarterbacks are not. He did reiterate on numerous occasions though, that he feels black quarterbacks are judged on more than wins and losses.
"It's about winning football games. That's what it's all about," he said. "It doesn't matter if you are black, white, red, green, or yellow. It doesn't matter. It's about winning football games."
Some reporters questioned the timing of the piece in light of the Eagles 0-2 start, but McNabb said that when the piece ran didn't make a difference in the long run.
Though it did not air until Tuesday night, the interview was conducted over three weeks ago, and McNabb said he left the interview expecting some backlash from his remarks when it eventually became public.
"If it came out later in the year, you guys would talk about that too, so it really doesn't matter," he said.
