The national president of the NAACP is involved in a public brouhaha with the president of the Philadelphia chapter. Are they feuding over President Bush’s authorization of secret spying on U.S. citizens? No. Is it over the tug-of-war between the House and Senate over the proposed extension of controversial sections of the USA Patriot Act? Nope. Are they fighting over cuts poor people are expected to shoulder in the next federal budget as the wealthy get to enjoy extended tax cuts? Hardly.

Of all the important public issues facing America, NAACP President Bruce S. Gordon and Philadelphia chapter president Jerry Whyatt Mondesire are at odds over whether Mondesire should have criticized Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb in a newspaper column. Mondesire, publisher of the Philadelphia Sun, a Black newspaper, called McNabb overrated and took him to task for what Mondesire described as McNabb’s lack of leadership both on and off field.

“…This week I felt compelled to offer some personal thoughts about your horrific on-field performances this season because at their core is a lie you have tried to use to hide the fact that in reality you actually are not that good. In essence, Donny, you are mediocre at best,” Mondesire wrote.

Gordon, who grew up in Philadelphia, issued a strongly-worded statement that upbraided Mondesire for upbraiding McNabb.

“I have followed the Eagles organization and its players for a long time,” he said. “Donovan McNabb is one of the best that they have had. He is a great quarterback, an excellent role model and a class act. Whatever possessed Mondesire to take such a negative position on a positive person like McNabb is beyond me. The NAACP has many civil rights issues that require our attention. Criticizing Donovan McNabb is not one of them. However, in light of Mondesire’s criticism it has become a personal priority to offer my apology as well as my support.”

Gordon added, “The NAACP is further investigating this matter to make sure these statements were properly vetted and our policies and procedures were not violated.”

The last time I checked, NAACP chapter presidents were volunteers. That means they are not NAACP employees and even if they were, they would still be entitled to the First Amendment protection of free speech. Writing as a columnist – where opinions are supposed to be expressed – and going to great lengths to say that he was offering some “personal thoughts,” Mondesire didn’t need his column “vetted” by Gordon or anyone else.

I have known Jerry Mondesire, a former aide to Congressman Bill Gray, for many years. He is thoughtful, principled and, as is evident, unafraid to speak his mind. He is said to be considering a run for Congress. If that’s true, I admire Jerry even more for speaking up. Surely, he knew that writing that column would not win him any votes.

Many people have asked why Mondesire would offer such a harsh critique of McNabb. All one has to do is read his column and it’s pretty clear what set him off (Copies of Mondesire’s column and Gordon’s statement are posted on my blog, curryingfavor.blogspot.com). He faults McNabb for running less this year and then accusing critics who point that out as engaging in a form of racism.

During the season, Terrell Owens, the recently exiled wide receiver for the Eagles, said that the Eagles would win a Super Bowl if Brett Farve, the Green Bay Packers quarterback, were the team’s quarterback instead of McNabb.

“The brash and bombastic Terrell Owens may have committed the unpardonable sin of going public with his put down, but was he fundamentally wrong?” Mondesire asked. “The pressure, the hype, the clock – they all just converged and your nerve collapsed under their combined weight,” he wrote. “Mediocre isn’t horrible in and of itself. Most of us don’t live up to our dreams. It’s when we fake it that most of the rest of us get irritated.”

Clearly, Mondesire was irritated when he wrote the next paragraph.

“So, for you to continue to deny we fans (as well as yourself) one of the strongest elements of your game by claiming that ‘everybody expects black quarterbacks to scramble’ not only amounts to a breach of faith but also belittled the real struggles of black athletes who’ve had to overcome real racial stereotypcasting [sic] in addition to downright segregation.”

As Mondesire noted, Doug Williams, the only Black quarterback to win a Super Bowl, was not a scrambler. Nor is the Tennessee Titians’ Steve McNair, Minnesota QB Daunte Culpepper or Byron Leftwich of Jacksonville. And they are not criticized for not scrambling.

If McNabb, in fact, blamed his sub-par and injury-riddled season on others’ purported perception of Black quarterbacks as scramblers, Mondesire is not only correct to call him out on that lame excuse, Bruce Gordon should present Mondesire with an NAACP Image Award. Then, perhaps, the NAACP can concentrate on our real priorities.