George Allen: Like father like son

George Allen was one of the winningest coaches in NFL history with the third best winning percentage after Lombardi and Madden. Allen was known to always try to do something to get an edge: sending spies to the Cowboys practice field, opening the door in the end zone of RFK Stadium when an opposing kicker was getting ready for a long field goal attempt, etc. Then there were the times - with both the Redskins and the Rams - that he traded the same draft pick twice. How could George, who never missed anything, overlook something...?

Fast forward to 2006, and George Allen Jr. the junior Senator from Virginia seems to have his hands full with political neophyte James Webb. Certainly Senator Allen referring to a Webb volunteer who attended his rally as "macaca" here knew what he was saying. This is, afterall an established, successful politician who has been both Governor and Senator.

Macaca is a genus of monkey and is also a slur used in Europe and North Africa against people of African descent. Sidarth, the Webb volunteer who attended the Allen rally is of Indian descent, but he was born and raised in Virginia.

Senator Allen has been thrown badly off stride by the reaction to his comments to the college student. Mr. Allen has insisted that his use of the term “macaca” had no racial connotations.

I guess that's what happens when you are raised in a family where Redskin is a term of endearment for Native American Indians.

I think that, like his successful father, Senator Allen is about to embark on the USFL phase of his career and join Joe Lieberman and Frank Murkowski as a sea change occurs in Congress in both the House and Senate this fall. That will give him lots of time to collect Confederate lapel pins and flags.

"Embracing the Confederate Flag: In 1993, as a candidate for governor, George Allen displayed a Confederate flag in the very first television ad of his campaign. Almost not surprisingly, Allen's senior high school picture shows the Senator sporting a Confederate flag pin on his lapel. In college, Allen proudly displayed the Confederate flag on the back of his pickup truck and in his college dorm room where the flag "was an explosive issue." (The New Republic, 5/15/06; The New Republic, May 8, 2006)"

At least Coach Allen knew when to drop back fifteen yards and punt.

UPDATE: Does anyone know what Allen's response was to the Cosell-Alvin Garrett "look at that little monkey" incident in 1983? Too ironic...