Washington Redskins Coach Mike Shanahan Called Racist For Benching Quarterback Donovan McNabb

McNabb benching opens wounds

(By Mike Wise, The Washington Post) - Mike Shanahan's benching of Donovan McNabb for the final two minutes in Detroit permeates everything inside and outside the franchise 11 days later, so let's get right to the elephant in the room they wish would go away in Ashburn: race.

The decision, and Shanahan's awkward explanations for it afterward, continues to reverberate in part because this was a white coach and a black quarterback and especially because of the history of the organization they now belong to.

Shanahan's decision most likely wasn't about anything other than a coach frustrated with the most important player on his team, but the strong reactions to it are rooted in Washington's past, baggage the Redskins acquired long before Shanahan came aboard.