Idiot comment of the week

Darren Rovell of CNBC re: Meb Keflezighi's NYC marathon win/citizenship:

"Keflezighi...is an American citizen thanks to taking a test and living in our country. Nothing against Keflezighi, but he's like a ringer who you hire to work a couple hours at your office so that you can win the executive softball league."

http://www.cnbc.com/id/33587668

Some of the readers make excellent points.

 

Not born in America + funny sounding name = UnAmerican.

 

As many of the commenters pointed out, unless one is in fact Native American, we are all descended from immigrants.

I usually like Rovell, but it's clear what he's trying to say here; he just can't come out and say it, so he has to obscure it behind this poorly constructed facade.

 

isn't it Darren Rovell, who used to work for ESPN? the way he said it may have been wrong but i think his point was no America doesn't have the next Bill Rodgers, this guy grew up in and trained in another country.

 

Of course, the guy moved to America when he was 12, and only began training as a distance runner in high school. And he moved to America from Italy, where he had been a refugee.

But don't let the facts interfere with your argument. Rovell certainly didn't.

 

I bet you that 75 percent of the American born citizens could not pass that citizenship test if it were plopped down in front of them.

But I agree with Rovell, the problem with America is that we are letting in and celebrating too many people of different races, religions and viewpoints.

I wish we all still were uptight white people wearing funny hats and boots, eating turkey and fearing God.

 

I actually remember him when he was a kid in high school down in San Diego. He also placed second representing the U.S. in the Olympics marathon event a few years ago.

I figured he immigrated at some point, but I always considered him an American.

 

The thread title understates it.

This could be a candidate for "Idiot Comment of the Year".

 

True, but I wanted to leave room for something like this: Rovell's latest post. http://www.cnbc.com/id/33603449

In it, he admits failing do research on Meb (what? and he still has a job?) then he tries to backpedal by saying: Oh, Meb learned to run here, so therefore he's American.

 

I wasn't making an argument there ace. I didn't see in his article where he was 12 when he moved to America. I was thinking if he was 20-something when he got here it's not the same as someone who went to high school and college and learned how to run in the US.

 

Actually, I heard on Glenn Beck that Meb was really born in Kenya.
It was either Meb or some other guy with a weird name. Goddamn foreigners.