VIDEO: ESPN’s Booger McFarland Believes Zach Wilson Lacks Accountability Because He Grew Up with ‘A Lot of Money’

Zach Wilson
Grant Halverson/Getty Images
Dylan Gwinn

A discussion about Jets quarterback Zach Wilson’s refusal to accept responsibility for his team’s woeful offensive performance on Sunday took a socio-economic turn on Monday night after ESPN’s Booger McFarland attributed Wilson’s lack of accountability to his supposedly wealthy upbringing.

McFarland made the comment after reports came out on Sunday that Wilson had angered teammates by not accepting responsibility for a lackluster offensive effort in the Jets’ 10-3 loss to the Patriots on Sunday. During ESPN’s Monday Night Countdown, while sitting next to fellow panelists Robert Griffin III and Steve Young, McFarland opined that Wilson’s wealthy background played a role in his refusal to take responsibility.

“Let’s understand who this young man is before we ask him to accept accountability,” McFarland said. “He’s a young man who grew up with a lot of money. I don’t think he’s ever had to accept accountability. So now on the biggest stage we want this quarterback to accept accountability.”

Young, a BYU product like Wilson, pushed back against McFarland’s claim.

“That doesn’t … that doesn’t resonate at all,” Young said. “He’s a tough-minded kid, he’s comfortable — ”

“Steve!” McFarland interjected. “He hasn’t had to accept accountability, so now on the biggest stage we want this kid to be an adult in front of grown men and accept accountability.”

Eventually, Young seemed to concede at least half of McFarland’s argument.

“[Wilson] let ’em down yesterday that’s for sure,” Young said. McFarland responded, “He let them down yesterday.”

So, who is right and who is wrong?

Let’s start where most of us should be able to agree: It’s the quarterback’s job to make the offense produce, and the Jets produced an absolute turd in New England on Sunday. Wilson completed just nine passes for 77 yards – in the entire game. And when asked if he felt like the offense he leads let the defense down by only scoring three points while the defense only allowed three points, Wilson said, “No.”

So, McFarland is accurate when he says that Wilson has an issue accepting responsibility for his failures.

But is that because he grew up rich?

Without having Archie Manning’s tax returns in front of me at the moment, I cannot ascertain whether Peyton or Eli Manning grew up under the literal definition of “rich.” However, it’s pretty clear they weren’t raised in a cardboard box, either. It’s also clear that both of them took responsibility for their failures in the NFL, at least as much as anyone does.

Maybe that’s because Archie raised them, right?

There’s a famous story about how Archie Manning drove Peyton to his high school coach’s house to apologize for yelling at him on the sidelines.

Maybe Zach Wilson didn’t have that?

In any event, it’s likely too simplistic to merely say Wilson lacks accountability because he’s rich. Lord Knows there have been enough NFL players from poor backgrounds who have also neglected to take responsibility for their actions.

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