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The Dark Truth: Kaepernick and Sherman Are Put Under a Microscope Because of Skin Color

Posted by on Jan 24, 2014 15:55

shermzzz

When Barack Obama was inaugurated as the 44th President of the United States on Jan. 20, 2009, he became this nation’s first African American to hold that office.

Obama also became the first president born after the baby boomer generation. He was not a child of the civil rights movement, but fully understood that his election to the highest office in the nation was history in the making. He also understood that we as a people still had a long way to go.

I think the American people, at their core, are a decent people. I think that we still have prejudice in our midst but I think that the vast majority of Americans are willing to judge people on the basis of, you know, their ideas and their character.

Obama’s Presidency came nearly a half century after the civil rights movement began in the United States. It was a long time coming for this nation, but the election of one mixed-race man didn’t signify the end of prejudice, racism and discrimination in this nation. For that will always exist, whether institutional or otherwise.

A young black man who sounds off will be called a thug. Another young black man, in the spotlight of the NFL, will be compared to some of the hardened criminals in California because he sports tattoos. The ignorance and pure stupidity of those making these claims cannot be overlooked. By ignoring the wretched ways of some, we are only acting as catalysts for them to spew more hate.

Who has a responsibility to move the sports world forward from the racist innuendos that have started to be more commonplace recently? How can this regression towards a more socially acceptable way to discriminate be stopped? Those are the larger issues at hand.

The starting off point must be these stooges, most of them following (or writing) the guide, created by  middle-aged white man, that represents  social construct of how individuals should act. Calling them out on their words has to be the first step. Recognition that they aren’t doing anything for the advancement of journalistic integrity has to be another step.

Coming out of the well-known crime-ridden Los Angeles town of Compton, Richard Sherman finished his high school career with a 4.1 GPA. Not only was Sherman adept in the classroom, he did whatever he could to help others, per Los Angeles Times. 

I’m trying my best to get them where I’m going, to the college level…I’m helping them study for the SAT. A lot of people come in blind in what they need to know, not knowing one day they could be a top college prospect.

The backstory here is that Sherman needed to overcome a less-than-stellar living condition in the crime-ridden neighborhood in order to make his way in life. The classroom and sports, as proven by his acceptance to Stanford University, acted as an outlet for an intelligent young man.

In the end, Sherman became the first Dominguez High School graduate to get a scholarship from Stanford in two decades. His father worked as a trashman, waking up at 4 AM every morning in order to give his children the opportunity that he never had. This is a guy that made then USC head coach Pete Carroll wait over two hours to meet him because he didn’t want to leave class early, per Business Insider.

Once at Stanford, Sherman exceeded both on and off the field. He moved from wide receiver to cornerback as a junior after pushing the Harbaugh-led coaching staff to give him an opportunity on the defensive side of the ball.

In the classroom, Sherman was all aces. He graduated from Stanford with a 3.9 GPA, even before his eligibility to play football had concluded. Heck, Sherman spent his senior season working on a Master’s Degree in communications.

Those who took to the airwaves and Internet to criticize Sherman were not interested in his backstory. I even let off a rant on Twitter immediately following his postgame interview this past Sunday. I have since deleted the tweet and apologized to my followers for letting my passion get in the way of common sense. See, none of us are immune from jumping the gun or letting the immediacy of the social media world cloud our judgment. But most of us are immune to acting the part of a bigot.

It is, however, those who decided to turn this into a race thing that really has the sports world up in arms.

One of the first words used to describe Sherman immediately after his postgame rant was “thug.” People were not merely saying that he acted like a thug in the interview, they were calling him one. That’s an important point of emphasis. Without knowing Sherman’s background, one could easily come to the conclusion that he didn’t show himself in the best of lights. Heck, knowing his background, we might still come to that conclusion.

At a day and age when athletes are getting arrested on murder, manslaughter, drunk driving and sexual assault charger…Sherman is being singled out as a thug by some in the media. Sherman has no record, graduated from one of the top-five universities in the country and represents the city of Seattle with utmost class off the field.

But thug.

Even Golden State Warriors swingman Andre Iguodala decided it made sense to chime in with one of the most ignorant tweets of the night…

Without even crossing into the rocky waters of pretending to get into Iguodala’s mind as it relates to how he perceives another African American athlete, lets just call that for what it was. Someone who supports a local Bay Area team and was upset about Sherman’s outburst. I can identify with that 100 percent. At least, that’s what I hope Iggy was coming from in the heat of the moment. If not, he may want to take a step back and understand exactly who he was talking about at that exact moment. There are a ton of other examples in the professional sports world and the larger American society that Iggy could of used…well if he wanted to go that route.

For his part, Sherman seemed to think that there was a racial undertone to those who attacked him.

 

He’s not wrong, as the following photo proves to a T, via Daily Snark.

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You are going to have these backwoods racists show up when someone of a different race does something controversial. This happens all the time, and represents nothing less than an imperfect nation that still breeds ignorance from every walk of Earth. That really cannot be stopped.

However, it’s the media and other athletes that utilized what I call institutional ignorance when responding to Sherman’s post-game rants.

Leave it to a caucasian baseball player from the midwest to tell two African Americans how they should act. While Wilson most definitely represented the Seahawks organization with class after the dramatic NFC Championship game victory, there has to be something said about individuality in the sports world. I still wonder to this day whether Verlander knows Sherman’s backstory…or if he even cares.

Because Sherman was bound to go all Compton on Andrews, right?

Again, back to the comparisons between Sherman and his “brother,” upon which middle-aged white men everywhere seem to believe is more adaptable to their worn out ways.

 

Because Sherman has shown that he is a violent man and a threat to society. Was it this photo that gave it away?

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Wait. Sherman is fishing here. That must be acceptable to the white power elite everywhere. His shorts and flip flops fit tightly into the societal construct that some of those  who attacked him are looking for.

I will stop there, but I am pretty sure you guys got the point.

The quarterback who threw that game-altering interception, Colin Kaepernick is yet another player who doesn’t fit the mold of what we “expect” from a professional athlete. Since leading San Francisco to the Super Bowl last season, Kaepernick has been the target of bigotry and downright racism…mostly from members of the media.

It may sound like I am harping on the media a bit here, but there is a reason for that. I grew up being told stories about the greats like Edward R. Murrow and Walter Cronkite. My grandfather, God rest his soul, would comment on newspapers. His major qualm with writers of that time, not too long ago mind you, was that they weren’t doing their job. One of the truths I try to follow when covering sports is to use my moral and ethical guide in my writing. To breach those two things is to give in to the rate race that are page clicks and views. It’s the idea that you cannot be trusted as a writer, no matter what field you cover, unless you stay true to yourself.

Mainstream media, in all of its supposed finite righteousness, has failed to represent morality and ethics when covering Colin Kaepernick. It’s as simple as that.

About a year ago today ESPN scribe Rick Reilly penned an article that makes everything we view to be private in our personal lives as nothing more than worthy of an article attacking the individual decision that Kaepernick made as it relates to his birth mother.

The incendiary attack job was entitled “A call Kaepernick Should Make.”

It started…

Rae, my 23-year-old daughter, is adopted from Korea. Sometimes I look at her and feel for the woman who gave her up, who never got the joy of knowing her, raising her, watching her.

And continued…

The 49ers’ 25-year-old starting quarterback, Colin Kaepernick, is adopted, too. I wonder if he sometimes feels for the woman who gave him up, who didn’t get the joy of knowing him and raising him.

The simple fact that Reilly would use something as personal as his adopted daughter to make a point initially made me want to spew all of my food from that day up on my keyboard. He would then go on to compare his daughters situation with that of Kaepernick, as mentioned above. How dare he pretend to know what Kaepernick went through, the decision that made him not want to have communication with his birth mother and pen an article attacking Kaepernick for it. This is shock-jock journalism at its worst, and Reilly (as well as his editor) should have been fired on the spot for it.

Reilly finished up this disgusting example of a piece…

The Kaepernicks have told Colin they’d have no problem with him speaking to Russo. They even met with her recently without Colin. But Colin hasn’t budged on the issue. One of his friends told Yahoo! Sports that Colin would think it’s “treasonous” to meet with Russo.

But it’s not. It’s healthy. It’s healing. It’s natural.

Do you have the right, Mr. Reilly, to tell Kaepernick what is healthy in his relationship with his birth mother? Do you have the right to collect a paycheck doing so? I guess this is a question for ESPN.

Even more repugnant, if at all possible, Sporting News columnist David Whitley used Kaepernick’s tattoos to attack the young quarterback at the very core of his being. The article titled “Colin Kaepernick ushers in an inked-up NFL quarterbacking era,” went completely off the deep end. 

Approximately 98.7 percent of the inmates at California’s state prison have tattoos. I don’t know that as fact, but I’ve watched enough “Lockup” to know it’s close to accurate.

I’m also pretty sure less than 1.3 percent of NFL quarterbacks have tattoos. There’s a reason for that.

Because they chose not to ink up their body, which is yet another personal choice. Starting out an article that focuses on Kaepernick’s tattoos by indicating a certain percentage of prisoners from the biggest state in the union are inked up is what I call assuming the conclusion. Whitley had already decided the end game of his article before even delving into its body. Irresponsible jourlanlism at it’s finest.

Did Sammy Baugh, Johnny Unitas, Doug Williams or Joe Montana have arms covered in ink? Do Tom Brady, Drew Brees or Aaron Rodgers? The world will end when Tim Tebow shows up a tattoo parlor.

So nice of Whitley to bring one African-American quarterback into the conversation. Imagine if Williams had been inked up as the first African-Americna to start a Super Bowl back in the 80’s. Yeah, that’s what I thought.

Then there are Michael Vick and Terrelle Pryor. Neither exactly fit the CEO image, unless your CEO has done a stretch in Leavenworth or has gotten Ohio State on probation over free tattoos.

I am pretty sure that Ryan Leaf, Jeff George, Todd Marinovich aren’t currently headlining multi-billion dollar corporations, but why bring them into the conversation?

That’s what makes Kaepernick a threat to the stereotype. By all accounts, he’s polite, hard working, humble and has never been to prison. He sounds more like a Tebow who can throw.

Then what’s the point of this article? Is Kaepernick less “polite” because he wears tattoos? Does he not fit your middle-aged white man construct of what a young African-American football player should look like?

The egregiousness of this entire piece isn’t only offputting, it makes me embarrassed to be a member of the media. If these scribes can go out there and spew a warn out hate-filled dogma while speaking for others in this country, that says more about the current lowering of ethics in the sports media world today.

Criticism towards Kaepernick doesn’t end there.

He’s been lambasted for showing off his physique on the cover of “ESPN’s Body Magazine,” got a bunch of crap for wearing a Miami Dolphins hat in South Beach and has even had questions thrown his away about his intelligence level as it relates to quarterbacking in the NFL.

Okay, let’s start with that last bit of misinformation that has been spewed by some in the media.

Kaepernick’s old high school teacher had the following to say about his educational standards, per SF Gate).

 

When he was in the classroom, he was in the classroom. He always wanted to be the best math student in the class. Even when he got a 96 or 98 on a test, he’d come up after and want to know what he did wrong.

He would sit in the front of the classroom, normally drawing ridicule from other students as the teacher’s pet. His only substance abuse issue, according to that SF Gate article, was which Gatorade to drink at parties when other students were getting hammered. Kaepernick finished his high school career with a 4.3 GPA.

Why do I find it necessary to defend Kaepernick? Am I making too much of this? You can draw your own conclusions there.

Others will draw their own as it relates to the talented young quarterback…and boy have they. 

Courtesy of The Big Lead

Courtesy of The Big Lead

 

While not wanting to give Maiorani, a Buffalo Bills writer for Democrat & Chronicle, too much press, it has become a necessity to call these ignorant stooges out on their utterly ridiculous takes on Kaepernick, among others.

This tweet, since deleted, drew the ire of many different fans and players around the National Football League. At which point, some decided it made sense to support Kaepernick by pointing out others who sport the “thuggish” hat on backwards

But again, how long did it take for some to get used to the idea of a mix-raced President in the White House? I digress.

Here is a better representation of the racial double standard in sports media today, as pointed out by just a regular joe.

What is true for some, just isn’t true for others.

Martin Luther King Jr. once orated it in way you nor I could ever imagine, per MLKday.gov.

Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.

Those who attack Kaepernick because of the way he dresses, wears his hat or the music he listens to are no better than those police officers in Birmingham who turned firehouses and attack dogs on peaceful protectors because of the “fear” of mob rule. They are just using “ink” and “paper” to set into motion what certain segments of the power elite in the media, would have you believe about a mixed-race quarterback that made history.

Locally here in San Francisco, former Philadelphia Eagles scout John Middlekauff and current CSNBA contributor played right into this stereotype and represented the bitter middle-aged white men mentality that I have discussed here at length.

Really, Mr. Middlekauff? Maybe this is the reason you are no longer a scout in the National Football League. The times have clearly passed you by, so you take to the media as a forum to ventilate some worn out dogma. Good for you.

That’s precisely what’s wrong with the media today, in particular sports media…upon which I am a member. Giving a forum to those not worthy of having one. Letting them utilize some sort of self perceived social construct at the cost of the progression this nation has seen over the years. In reality, they are not just attacking those unfortunate athletes, they are making us all look bad.

Instead of ignoring it the next time one of these individuals attempt to create controversy by acting the part of a an ignorant stooge, maybe embrace it. Embrace the debate and show these people exactly what they are. Unwilling to move forward in a society that has already accomplished so much but still has a lot to do. Unable to embrace of the realities of the world…realities that generations into the future will take and run with.

Don’t let their pure stupidity quiet you. Just think if Edward R. Murrow and Walter Cronkite would have played the role of appeaser. Where would we be now? Don’t be that person.

 

Vincent Frank has been covering the National Football League for three years. He started out writing for Bleacher Report and is currently the head editor at eDraft and a columnist at Pro Football Focus. Vincent co-hosts a weekly radio show called “Football Debate Central” with former NFL player Ryan Riddle and has seen his work featured on CNN, BR and Los Angeles Times, among many other outlets.

 

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