The statement made by Donovan McNabb on “Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel” and then confirmed in a press conference on Wednesday is ridiculous.

Let me be up-front first: I have been a fan of McNabb since his days at Syracuse. He has incredible talent and has played through injuries as great quarterbacks do.

That said, his comments often display frustration over years of scrutiny.

Mr. McNabb, you are not alone.

I doubt he would like to switch places with Rex Grossman or Eli Manning.

Grossman has been figuratively beaten, kicked and spit on since his arrival at Halas Hall.

The higher level of scrutiny does not come because of race but because of location.

Quarterbacks in major markets get brutalized, regardless of race.

Another pressure to McNabb is that Philadelphia, though a smaller market, is known for being brutal.

They booed Santa Claus! Lincoln Financial Field is where hecklers across the country go to train.

Even if you want to concede that McNabb is criticized more frequently, that does not mean that other black quarterbacks get blasted more often.

The Chicago native should blame Rush Limbaugh for making him a target.

Comments of favoritism diametrically opposed to McNabb’s were spouted by the republican pundit years ago. McNabb’s appropriate response put him in the national spotlight and unfortunately under the media’s microscope.

Steve McNair, Baltimore Ravens quarterback, has never been verbally leveled the way McNabb has been. Just maybe his mild mannered ways help him to go unnoticed.

Criticism can be hard to handle but comes with the perks of being a famous professional athlete.

Walking out of a press conference is not the way for No. 5 to stop this, recent controversies have rattled Mr. McNabb into acting uncharacteristically unprofessional.

What will be interesting is how much worse it gets for the Eagles quarterback in the coming weeks.