Richard Sherman: Thug is the new n-word

[happyg]

(CNN) - NFL player Richard Sherman responded to critics Wednesday, specifically addressing racist reactions to his post-game rant Sunday.

Sherman took issue with people who, after watching him rant about an opponent on Sunday, called him a thug.

"This seems like it's the accepted way of calling somebody the n-word nowadays. It's like everybody else says the n-word, and then they say thug, and, 'Oh, that's fine,'" Sherman told reporters.

 "What's the definition of a thug, really? Can a guy on a football field just talking to people, you know, maybe I'm talking loudly and doing something, you know, talking like I'm not supposed to, but I'm not - you know, there's a hockey game where they didn't even play hockey. They just threw the puck aside and started fighting. I saw that and I said, 'Oh, man, I'm the thug?'" said Sherman.

"It's almost covert racism. Richard Sherman is exactly right," said Washington Post sports columnist Mike Wise. "When we see a hockey guy swapping fists with another hockey guy who happens to be white, all of a sudden those two people are 'enforcers.'"

Wise said he's not "going to completely be his apologist," saying Sherman's rant was poor timing given his team had just won a spot in the Super Bowl. But the sports columnist noted that the Seattle Seahawks cornerback has been the target of some unfair criticism for his angry, boastful comments Sunday.

"The greatest crime in American sports for an African-American athlete now ... is arrogance," said Wise. "You can be an actual criminal and be thought of more reverentially than you were if you were arrogant. I think it's wrong. There's something about it that bothers me."

For more of our interview with sport columnist Mike Wise, check out the video above.

above.

 Posted by Jake Tapper, Sherisse Pham   

http://thelead.blogs.cnn.com/2014/01/22/richard-sherman-thug-is-the-new-n-word/

[NavyCanDo]

 Let's talk about the Stanford graduate from Compton CA, who has never been arrested, never cursed in a post-game interview, never been accused of being a dirty player, started his own charitable non-profit, and has nothing close to a smudge on his record.

This past off-season, 31 NFL players were arrested for everything from gun charges and driving under the Influence to murder.

Last year, Kansas City Chiefs player Javon Belcher killed Kasandra Perkins, his girlfriend and the mother of his own child, before taking his own life.

Yet Richard Sherman in just  20 seconds of yelling at a camera, is now labeled a thug and a villain.

Week in and week out, we sit down in front of our televisions and cheer for these  athletes to destroy each other's bodies in one of the most brutal games known to man. Most of us probably do it with a beer in our hand, screaming and cursing at our TVs in a desperate hope to change the outcome of the game.   Who are we to judge when most of Sherman's judges never  knew who he was before this game?   

Are any of the news media stations diving into Sherman's past?   Hmmmmmmmm?   No they are not because there is nothing there.

Sadly we're still a country that can't decipher a person's character and will judge a person from a 20 second exposure.    We in Seattle know Richard Sherman, and see him interviewed all the time. He is NOT a thug. Quite the opposite.   And we really hate having our Seahawks portrayed as  villains in this Super Bowl.  cant we get bac to talking about the number 1 seeds and best offense and best defense playing each other. That is where the real story is.

[NavyCanDo]

So what did Sherman say to Crabtree that resulted in Crabtree shoving him forcibly away by his facemask?   NFL Films  had a mike on Sherman throughout the game.   What Sherman said to Crabtree as he patted him on the but and held out his hand to shake his hand was 'Helluva Game".     Who was acting like a thug?   Can you really blame Richard for letting off some steam?    I'd be pissed too.

If Crabtree would have responded with good sportsmanship and returned the hand shake, there would have been no heated interview, and we would not be talking about this.

[flowers]

What is up with this????  Why all the love for Crabtree on this????? Can you explain it to me? Sherman was just playing football. I just don't get this. Why pick on Sherman???????

[NavyCanDo]

Social media has really gone crazy and the controlling factor now for sensationalized non-stories. Think this is bad now, wait until we get closer to the election.   

[Puss-N-Boots]

We love our Richard Sherman.   Period.