Richard Sherman
NWA [Negro] With Attitude: Richard Sherman’s Post Game Rant and How Quickly it Became Racial
As the wounded 49ers sulked back into the locker rooms, the victorious Seahawks ran rampant across the field, congratulating each other, and some doing interviews for the local and national press. Erin Andrews, a reporter for ESPN, managed to lasso the game’s hero Richard Sherman in hopes of a thorough break down of the prior play in which All-Pro cornerback, Sherman, athletically deflected a pass meant for 49ers reciever Michael Crabtree, resulting in an easy interception by the Seahawks. “I’m the best corner in the game!”, screamed Sherman. “Don’t you EVER talk about me!” Per Anderews request, Sherman made it clear that he was talking about the ‘sorry’ receiver, Crabtree. This rant was apparently fueled Crabtree rejection of Sherman’s handshake, and Crabtree’s ensuing shove to the head. Unbeknownst to Andrews and the 56 million people watching nationwide, the rant by the loud-mouthed Sherman would set off a media firestorm that challenged the barriers of race, aggression, and character.
As I watched the Sherman-Andrews interview over and over through the likes of YouTube and WorldStarHipHop, I couldn’t help but think back to the 2008 Vogue cover featuring Lebron James and model Gisele Bundchen. The cover, criticized as being racially insensitive, showed Lebron James “roaring” while holding the graceful ‘damsel-in-distress’ Gisele. Obviously, the cover’s similarities to the popular ‘King Kong’ visuals were more than coincidental. This time however, LeBron was replaced with Richard Sherman, and Gisele with Andrews. This juxtaposition perfectly exemplifies society’s perceptions of primitive blacks and the civil whites. It didn’t take long for this firestorm to reach the likes of social media. While many saw the Sherman-Andrews exchange as mere comedy, the racial undertones began to creep up like weeds. The racial epithets ranged from the somewhat conservative
As the wounded 49ers sulked back into the locker rooms, the victorious Seahawks ran rampant across the field, congratulating each other, and some doing interviews for the local and national press. Erin Andrews, a reporter for ESPN, managed to lasso the game’s hero Richard Sherman in hopes of a thorough break down of the prior play in which All-Pro cornerback, Sherman, athletically deflected a pass meant for 49ers reciever Michael Crabtree, resulting in an easy interception by the Seahawks. “I’m the best corner in the game!”, screamed Sherman. “Don’t you EVER talk about me!” Per Anderews request, Sherman made it clear that he was talking about the ‘sorry’ receiver, Crabtree. This rant was apparently fueled Crabtree rejection of Sherman’s handshake, and Crabtree’s ensuing shove to the head. Unbeknownst to Andrews and the 56 million people watching nationwide, the rant by the loud-mouthed Sherman would set off a media firestorm that challenged the barriers of race, aggression, and character.
As I watched the Sherman-Andrews interview over and over through the likes of YouTube and WorldStarHipHop, I couldn’t help but think back to the 2008 Vogue cover featuring Lebron James and model Gisele Bundchen. The cover, criticized as being racially insensitive, showed Lebron James “roaring” while holding the graceful ‘damsel-in-distress’ Gisele. Obviously, the cover’s similarities to the popular ‘King Kong’ visuals were more than coincidental. This time however, LeBron was replaced with Richard Sherman, and Gisele with Andrews. This juxtaposition perfectly exemplifies society’s perceptions of primitive blacks and the civil whites. It didn’t take long for this firestorm to reach the likes of social media. While many saw the Sherman-Andrews exchange as mere comedy, the racial undertones began to creep up like weeds. The racial epithets ranged from the somewhat conservative