Express Yourself Black Man! The Way We Tell You to!
So it is one of my favorite times of the year from a sports perspective. It is NFL Playoff time. This last weekend the Seattle Seahawks beat the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship game. It was a close and hard fought game between the two with the Seahawks turning away the 49ers in the end zone at the end of the game. A great play by All-Pro cornerback Richard Sherman sealed the victory.
The 49er's had barely thrown the ball in Sherman's direction all day when they took a shot at the end of the game. Sherman tipped the ball away and it was intercepted by a teammate. It was an outstanding play by who many consider to be the best corner in the game right now.
Richard Sherman is a young, brash, talented and intelligent man from Compton Californina. After the game, reporters from ESPN Deportes and ESPN shoved mics in his face and let him react. He said he is the best and that the receiver he had worked against most of the day, Michael Crabtree, was mediocre. Oh and he was screaming while he did it. He also gave the choke sign to the 49ers. Questionable, yes?
Once again we get to see America at its' ugliest, by calling this young man a thug. We found out later that there was some personal history between Sherman and Crabtree that made him even more passionate about the win.
When are we going to reach a point where every Black Man who reacts the way he wants to and not the way old conservative White America wants him to, is not a thug? This guy just put his life, and career on the line. We just watched a few plays before when Navarro Bowman's knee bent in a direction it was not supposed to and he was hauled off on a cart. We also have seen men paralyzed and brain damaged, leading to suicide, by the sport so to say he put his life on the line is not being dramatic.
He put his life and well being on the line because he loves the game, his teammates and to entertain us. In return he makes a handsome living. Just because I pay for a ticket it does not give me the right to demand you react to highly charged physical and emotional situations in the way I want you to. In fact, we the public constantly want reality and access. We complain that we are tired of hearing the athlete at the podium giving us the same old cliché's. What happens when we get a clean look? We don't like what we see, so we trash and judge you for it.
"ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?" Maximus Meridius 'The Spainard'
Well what about the rest of the footage after the game? What else happened? Certainly, this out of control 'Thug' did some other 'Thuggish' stuff. I did some investigation and viewed a few things. I saw footage and heard audio of him shaking hands with other 49ers, even asking one that got hurt early in the game if he was ok. I saw him jumping and celebrating with his teammates. I saw him jump into a crowd of Seahawk fans and celebrate with them.
Are those the actions of a thug? Not in my book. Neither is Salutatorian (second in class) of your high school class. He graduated high school with a 4.1 GPA. Then graduated from Stanford with a 3.9 GPA. Clawing his way from Compton to Stanford to the NFL? Actions of a thug? I think not.
Just because you may not be a trash talker and it does not work for you does not mean you should judge someone else for it and it does nothing for them.
I think that athletes are artists. Artists of all types: actors, painters scultpers are given leeway to be different in our culture. All of those people use their talents to entertain us. Why are athletes not considered artists? They dedicate their being to their craft using the talent given to them for our entertainment. Is that not an artist?
Richard, let the fire burn! Don't let them pour water on it. Just one man't opinion.
That's All I Got!
I'm Out!
44Black
The 49er's had barely thrown the ball in Sherman's direction all day when they took a shot at the end of the game. Sherman tipped the ball away and it was intercepted by a teammate. It was an outstanding play by who many consider to be the best corner in the game right now.
Richard Sherman is a young, brash, talented and intelligent man from Compton Californina. After the game, reporters from ESPN Deportes and ESPN shoved mics in his face and let him react. He said he is the best and that the receiver he had worked against most of the day, Michael Crabtree, was mediocre. Oh and he was screaming while he did it. He also gave the choke sign to the 49ers. Questionable, yes?
Once again we get to see America at its' ugliest, by calling this young man a thug. We found out later that there was some personal history between Sherman and Crabtree that made him even more passionate about the win.
When are we going to reach a point where every Black Man who reacts the way he wants to and not the way old conservative White America wants him to, is not a thug? This guy just put his life, and career on the line. We just watched a few plays before when Navarro Bowman's knee bent in a direction it was not supposed to and he was hauled off on a cart. We also have seen men paralyzed and brain damaged, leading to suicide, by the sport so to say he put his life on the line is not being dramatic.
He put his life and well being on the line because he loves the game, his teammates and to entertain us. In return he makes a handsome living. Just because I pay for a ticket it does not give me the right to demand you react to highly charged physical and emotional situations in the way I want you to. In fact, we the public constantly want reality and access. We complain that we are tired of hearing the athlete at the podium giving us the same old cliché's. What happens when we get a clean look? We don't like what we see, so we trash and judge you for it.
"ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?" Maximus Meridius 'The Spainard'
Well what about the rest of the footage after the game? What else happened? Certainly, this out of control 'Thug' did some other 'Thuggish' stuff. I did some investigation and viewed a few things. I saw footage and heard audio of him shaking hands with other 49ers, even asking one that got hurt early in the game if he was ok. I saw him jumping and celebrating with his teammates. I saw him jump into a crowd of Seahawk fans and celebrate with them.
Are those the actions of a thug? Not in my book. Neither is Salutatorian (second in class) of your high school class. He graduated high school with a 4.1 GPA. Then graduated from Stanford with a 3.9 GPA. Clawing his way from Compton to Stanford to the NFL? Actions of a thug? I think not.
Just because you may not be a trash talker and it does not work for you does not mean you should judge someone else for it and it does nothing for them.
I think that athletes are artists. Artists of all types: actors, painters scultpers are given leeway to be different in our culture. All of those people use their talents to entertain us. Why are athletes not considered artists? They dedicate their being to their craft using the talent given to them for our entertainment. Is that not an artist?
Richard, let the fire burn! Don't let them pour water on it. Just one man't opinion.
That's All I Got!
I'm Out!
44Black
posted by 44Black at 9:53 AM
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