If you're black and fast, Gus Johnson knows why...

Tennessee Titans running back, Chris Johnson, has been one of the best, if not the best, running backs in the NFL this season. His 1,091 rushing yards as of November 16 were leading the league. The East Carolina graduate, who is also a fantasy football owner's dream, is one of the fastest players in the league.

On Nov. 1, in a game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Johnson flashed his speed during a break-away, 52-yard touchdown run. And CBS announcer Gus Johnson (no relation) couldn't resist declaring his thoughts as to why Chris may be so fast.



If you didn't catch it, Gus Johnson complimented Chris Johnson's speed by calling it, "Gettin' away from the cops speed."

Unless you haven't been associated with mainstream popular culture in the past decade, it is a common stereotype that African Americans are involved with criminal actions, and thus, would have to try and run from police. I'm sure Gus, who is also African American, didn't have any malicious intent on making a racial slur against Chris, but obviously a comment like that only perpetuates the stereotype even further.

In a survey conducted by Dennis Rome in 2000, some caucasians were asked to evaluate on a scale of 1-7 how violence prone black people were. In the results, 47 percent chose the violent end of the spectrum. Rome says "The criminal depictions, often provided by mass media and society's subsequent belief that most African American males are criminals, are good examples of the damaging effects of negative stereotypes." I believe the statement about Chris Johnson's speed falls directly into this category.

Gus apologized for the remark, saying it was not racist as every race has to run from the cops. While this is true, I feel that it is a cop-out (no pun intended) to say every race has to run from the cops. That is being ignorant to a very common racial stereotype that African Americans have to deal with, especially since he is African American himself. This is yet another example of how our society has become desensitized to racial remarks such as these.

Citation: Rome, D. Black Demons: The Media's Depiction of the African American Male Criminal Stereotype (2004). Westport, CT. Praeger Publishers.