I’ve spent the past few days reading facebook posts, blogs,
watching video, and news article reactions/responses to Richard Sherman’s NFC
Championship “rant”. That night, I spent a few hours considering other’s
reactions to his rant (positive and negative) being shared on Facebook. My initial sentiments? They were all over the
place but, for the most part, the following questions kept on surfacing…When
did we stop expecting athletes to display good sportsmanship? When did we
start believing that arrogance wins over humility? When did we start
accepting “rants” as thoughtful expressions of emotion? Why does his
Stanford education or GPA preclude him from a momentary lapse in rhetorical
oblivion? How can people acknowledge that what he did was not ok but didn’t
have a problem with it? When did we decide that we cannot hold people
accountable for their actions or that it is not ok to make mistakes? Why
should we even care about Richard Sherman? For these questions, I was
sad.
So like many other people, I posted my initial reaction on my
page:
Most importantly, I read Richard Sherman’s response posted on TheMMQB entitled “To Those Who Would Call Me a Thug or Worse …’.
When I watched Richard Sherman do all of this Sunday, it took me
to a different place. At the same time, I’m convinced that the rant
should be attributed to more than the mere adrenaline rush that so many people
are referencing. After all, when is the last time you told someone or heard
someone say “Don’t you talk about me”? To me, there’s so much more
complexity and nuance...I’ve been reflecting on all of this and I tried to
round them up into seven main thoughts:
1. Let’s be clear…
Sherman’s actions before or after Sunday night’s game will never warrant the
character assassination and racist vitriol that has consumed public debate over
the past 48 hours. Richard Sherman can be characterized as many things
but a “thug”, “N-Word”, “setting the black race back”, “or Worse” are not
simply false but they are flat out racist in every sphere of the social
construct. These statements against Sherman should be vigorously rejected
by the masses and people should offer him their support against these hateful
attacks.
2. Who is Richard Sherman? Context
matters. History matters. We should care about Richard Sherman because he
wants us to care. This was not just a spur of the moment rant. This
is what Sherman does. He speaks his mind and often argues for his
adversaries to acknowledge the respect that he believes he deserves. If
we take that away from him, by saying this was an adrenaline rushed response,
then we take away his right to demand the respect he deserves and those calls
for respect that occurred prior to Sunday night.
3. The notion of “silencing” Richard Sherman: I would never support efforts to “silence”
Richard Sherman. I do support reminding Sherman that his intellect and
talent has helped him to accomplish something few with his background have
achieved but his behavior Sunday was not a good representation of his whole
self. He knows this, because he expressed it in his article and the
apology that he offered the next day. We too should know this as well and
should not encourage this behavior as acceptable in any sphere of his
life. Sports do not afford a person the right to exhibit behavior that
would be otherwise unacceptable in a broader context. I realize many
accept this to be fact, but we have to begin rejecting it or our own children
will display these acts in our homes, schools, and communities. If you
would not accept this from your own children or teach your own children this
behavior as acceptable, why would it be acceptable for Sherman?
4. For my Facebook folks:
I must address my Facebook responders
who challenged me on his use of the N-Word. Do I know with all certainty
that he used the complete word, no. What I know with all certainty is
that I heard it when it crossed my ears and my eyes confirmed as I read his
lips. You see, I grew up around people who were hearing impaired.
So at a very young age I learned how to read lips and sign the alphabet so that
we could communicate. But I acknowledged that reading lips is an
imperfect tool and conceded that others watching with me did not hear him say
the N-word. So we rewound the interview, 3 times, and they also agreed
that he used the word. Maybe he did not say the N-Word in its entirety,
but I know for certain that he began to say it. If I concede that he
caught himself, it still saddens me that his broader call for respect was
enveloped in a level of anger that would cause him to use that hateful
word. For this, I believe he owes Crabtree an apology. Friendly
competition and “trash-talking” is absolutely apart of the game, but this level
of anger is just as hateful as the people who used it against him.
5. About Sherman as a representation for Black people: I am happy
to say that I now have the capacity to view the representation of Black people
in American culture on a spectrum. Richard Sherman’s rant and people’s
reaction to it does not fall in the same category of our discussions of reality
television or made for television dramas. We must begin to understand all
things Black is not a monolithic expression of Black culture. I no longer
get upset about the representation of Black people on reality shows, movies,
and television because I understand that these things are “scripted”
perspectives of the individual writing up these scenarios. But football
is real life. The emotion that came from Richard Sherman at that moment
was real life and in real time. So my reaction to it is just different.
6. Why I’m not here for
the “adrenaline rush” narrative: What do
I expect Sherman to do with his adrenaline rushing at its maximum level because
he just made the play that gave the Seattle Seahawks only its 2nd
Super Bowl appearance in history? I expect him to do what he has done
many times before, be a good sportsperson. I expect him to do exactly
what he did when he spoke to other reporters immediately following the end of
the game. For the sake of clarity, Erin Andrews did not run up to him immediately
after the play. There was still an extra kick of which a penalty was
accessed because of the action that was the real reason for the rant.
This was not your average “end of the game adrenaline rush”. We have to
acknowledge that fact. We also have to acknowledge that it is ok to
expect him to display good sportsmanship and unfortunately he did not exhibit
it at this moment. Thus is was in fact, not ok!
7. …but I am here for a
more critical and complex narrative: Given
that I try to be a consistent advocate for athletes, my concern for Sherman’s
rant has nothing to do with his right or appropriateness during the post-game
interview. I have to understand that his “adrenaline rush” response was
greater than a moment but a release from a young man who feels the weight of
his background on his shoulders. His expression to be recognized as “The
Best” is a warranted expectation for a young Black man, who resisted deviant
behaviors in his neighbor, earned a college degree from Standford University,
and made the play that sent his team to the Super Bowl. And because of
these facts, we can also encourage him to remember we believe he deserves all
that he has accomplished not because of his arrogance but because of his
humility.
Based on the responses of fans, social media, and popular media,
it appears that people want us to judge Richard Sherman by his whole self and
not use this singular incident as a moniker for his character. I agree
with anyone who feels this way. So, I choose not to judge him at
all. I choose to consider Richard Sherman as his whole self which for me
is a young man who has had to fight his entire life to earn the respect that
every Black man (and every person) feels that he deserves. These things
do not give him a pass to handle his issues with Crabtree (or anyone else he
feels disrespects him) in this way. Why?
Because Black boys and men who make this same choice but are not in the
position to taut his accomplishments will not find themselves playing in the
Super Bowl. We can’t have it both ways. We just can’t!!
Will this “rant” affect who I will root for in the 2014 Super
Bowl game? Not in the least! I was a sport fan before I was a sport
sociologist! Don’t ever get THAT twisted. As a sport fan I have
always been attracted to “the story” over the “talent”. I suspect that
explains why I am a sport sociologist. This will never change, thus the
story will guide my 2014 Super Bowl pick just like everyone before and everyone
after! Play hard, Seattle Seahawks and Denver Broncos, play with
heart!!
