I enjoyed the game with the kids last night between the San Francisco 49ers that sent the Seattle Seahawks. That amazing game however was marred by a bizarre rave from cornerback Richard Sherman. Sherman immediately followed the win with a screaming and unhinged rant. The question is whether the Seahawks should be able to discipline Sherman for such a disgraceful performance — just after an equally disgraceful taunting of the 49ers. I would be the first to defend the free speech rights of Sherman to act like a street thug and even diss opposing players like San Francisco receiver Michael Crabtree. However, the Seahawks drew well-deserved praise on this blog for moving against thugs in the stadium in the prior game with the 49ers. How about the thugs on the field? This is not an attack on free speech by the government. The question is whether a company can discipline an employee at work for behaving like a thug. UPDATE: Sherman has been fined by the NFL for his taunting shortly before his outburst on television.
Sherman followed the interception against the 49ers by engaging in raw unsportsmanlike conduct, including a choke taunt to rub salt in the wound of the opposing team. He then was called over by a friendly Erin Andrews who cheerfully asked him for his reaction. Andrews was virtually speechless as Sherman started screaming: “Well, I’m the best corner in the game! When you try me with a sorry receiver like Crabtree, that’s the result you’re going to get! Don’t you ever talk about me!” I realize that Sherman and Crabtree were trash talking in the game, but this is still a game watched by millions of families. It is bad enough, as we have previously discussed, that families have to content with drunken, foul-mouthed fans in stadiums. Now, the players are demonstrating the worst type of conduct and values on television. I am a big supporter of unsportsmanshiplike conduct penalties. However, this was after the game. Should the Seahawks be allowed to fine players for this type of rude and uncivil conduct while wearing a Seahawks uniform on the field?
Crabtree strikes me as showing the same idiocy in this game and should be reprimanded for his own lack of sportsmanship. I understand Sherman’s excuse that he was pumped up and mad but I am tired to just shrugging off the notion that sports celebrities should not be required to be role models. Movie celebrities are often immature toddlers. However, they do not represent a team and represents a city. We have a race to the bottom in both stadiums and on the field as we dismiss this type of conduct as irrelevant or expected. It is part of a society that seems to be losing basic notions of control and civility. I think that people paid millions should be expected to show a modicum of maturity and self-control. If this were a Chicago Bear, I would feel the same way. Indeed, I would be even more disgusted. Between the thugs in the stands and the thugs on the field, we are losing this game to the lowest common denominator.
What is interesting is that a fan can be fired and banned for life for acting like an ass at a stadium, but a player (particularly a good one) seem immune from such responsibility (or the most minimal requirements of society) in appearing on television at a football game.
Later, Sherman only slightly toned down his message, which he must have thought brought him within the limits of civilized society. In an interview, he trashed Crabtree again and said “I was making sure everybody knew Crabtree was a mediocre receiver. Mediocre. And when you try the best corner in the game with a mediocre receiver, that’s what happens.” Thanks for that clarification.
By the way, Sherman is a Stanford graduate with a degree in communications.
UPDATE: There is a rather bizarre notion raised that suggesting that Sherman could be disciplined for this conduct is an attack on free speech. Free speech allows you to speak without government censorship or punishment. It does not mean that adults can say anything without any personal repercussions, particularly while at work. This blog is committed to free speech. Indeed, we have often been accused of being too extreme in our defense of free speech. However, this is not a question of free speech. It is a question of civility and professionalism. If an employee screams profanities at customers or co-workers, it is not a free speech issue. It is a question of the code for employees. If an employee shows contempt for customers or co-workers, it is not a free speech issue. Free speech means that no one can force you not to be an idiot. However, in society, being an idiot comes at a cost with people who do not want to appear idiots. The fact that this would not seem “so bad,” only shows how far our society has diverged from basic expectations of conduct from adults. This is precisely why professional sports is being a beacon for those who want to get drunk and act like juveniles. Call it prissy or prudish if you want. However, I do worry about how this type of conduct is being treated as just harmless trash talk. It is not the content but the conduct that it being raised by some of us. If we cannot agree that this type of conduct is improper for a professional athlete in a game, we have surrendered far too much in our expectations for a civil society.
Sherman is not a thug. George Zimmerman is. -Oro Lee
Yep.
Now, without elaborating, I’ve seen a lot of thugs over the course of the past several years and, it just so happens, that almost all of them are white. And some of them are cops.
As “annieofwi” said (and I agree):
Now if the person in question really was a thug, a street fighter, a criminal sort, I could see using the term, but to attempt to pin this “thuggery” on Sherman is wrong, he doesn’t deserve that.
I will also be careful of the use of the word “thug” henceforth. Sherman is not a thug. George Zimmerman is. See the difference.
“Ignorant people obviously don’t know better, but still don’t deserve to get a pass.”
Amen
As a youngster I described the results of a lengthy negotiation thusly: “I chewed him out of $40.” The person I was speaking to kindly informed me how I was casually slinging around a racist expression. At the time, I had never met a Jewish person. The person i was talking about wasn’t Jewish. I’m pretty sure none lived in my little town. Regardless, I never used that expression again, even in its corrupted form.
I was glad to be corrected.
Nick,
“Thanks very much for the Russell Wilson quote.”
No problem.
“Hopefully he can have a positive influence on Richard Sherman. Sherman needs some mentoring that only a black teammate can offer. He couldn’t so any better to have Russell Wilson as his mentor.”
I disagree that he needs mentoring. I have heard nothing but good thing about the man, including from David Shaw. Mr. Sherman seems to have a good head on his shoulders and I don’t find him to be a “cartoon character”. I think in this instance his behavior was a little over the top, but I am compelled to believe that he is a man of tremendous character, not only because he seems to be an outstanding teammate, but because it takes tremendous character to take the route he did to get to the NFL.
Cartoonish obnoxious people comment loudly in all walks of life, wear different skin tones and have varying levels of intelligence. To jump to conclusions and use racial buzz words to describe one of them is transparent and indicates an underlying racism all too prevalent amoung people who should know better. Ignorant people obviously don’t know better, but still don’t deserve to get a pass. We all know what the term thug connotes and what ethnicity it is used to disparage. Now if the person in question really was a thug, a street fighter, a criminal sort, I could see using the term, but to attempt to pin this “thuggery” on Sherman is wrong, he doesn’t deserve that. I’ve sensed that in the past few years it’s become too easy to use racial buzz words and then claim innocence and outrage that we as a society need to be so politically correct. Political correctness is a way in which a civilized society displays sensitivity to others and keeps us from slugging each other in the chops, unfortunately it doesn’t always work. Using peer pressure to reign in those who want to act uncivilized, we can steer folks into behaving, but why attach a racial connotation to it?
Racist Response to Sherman’s Rant
http://www.thedailybeast.com/cheats/2014/01/20/seahawks-sherman-goes-on-rant.html
Nothing like an innocuous American sports classic to reveal an ugly layer of racism. After Seattle Seahawks’ Richard Sherman post-game victory rant rubbed some people the wrong way, the Internet exploded in racial epithets directed towards him. Tweets included calling him a “jungle monkey” and “typical gorilla n—-r.” Richards responded in a post on MMQB “people find it easy to take shots on Twitter, and to use racial slurs and bullying language far worse than what you’ll see from me. It’s sad and somewhat unbelievable to me that the world is still this way, but it is. I can handle it.”
Dog…. In responding to Sherman…. Marching to the sea… Wrong side of the country…… Many yeas ago…..
What does anyone here know about Richard Sherman…. He plays professional football, he went to an outstanding school, he appears to be intelligent, he’s black, he was excited about winning and going to the Super Bowl…. I think he tried to congratulate the opposing team mate and was shunned…. Does this warrant this type of coverage… Only because his team won a deciding game….
Racist will be racist…. Regardless of color of skin….. It’s usually the trump card that gets played when you have nothing else intelligent to say……
Dumb People Say Stupid, Racist Sh*t About Richard Sherman
http://deadspin.com/dumb-people-say-stupid-racist-shit-about-richard-sherm-1504843629
Uncomfortable?? I’ve had guns pointed and fired @ me, and some cartoon figure screaming ON TV makes me uncomfortable? Sell your snake oil somewhere else.
Some of you find that behavior acceptable. I do not. Can we just leave it @ that.
Between the Lines: Latest Episode in Unforgivable Blackness: Richard Sherman Is Nobody’s Racist (or Fool)
January 23, 2014
http://www.eurweb.com/2014/01/between-the-lines-latest-episode-in-unforgivable-blackness-richard-sherman-is-nobodys-racist-or-fool/
Excerpt:
*It doesn’t take much for America to backslide into a mean-spirited racial discourse, where it can take something as simple as the passion of a heatedly contested battle at the end of a conference championship football game, and turn it into something sinister and evil.
http://espn.go.com/nfl/playoffs/2013/story/_/id/10334062/super-bowl-xlviii-richard-sherman-seattle-seahawks-says-not-villain (with video, esp. comments about Erin Andrews (: )
… [Seahawks quarterback] Russell Wilson…
Wilson came to Sherman’s defense Wednesday.
“Richard has tremendous character,” Wilson said. “He got fired up and I guess you would call it a mistake. But I know that’s not how he is. He is one of the most intelligent people you will ever meet. He’s one of my good friends, and I love him to death.
“Richard is an unbelievable football player. I have tons of respect for him. He plays the game of football with tons of passion and tons of fire. It was one of those things where he just got excited. I know he apologized. He’s a great teammate who always is focused on how he can improve and how he can help us win. He didn’t mean to blow it all up.”
Sherman said he was grateful for the people who came to his defense the past few days, including baseball Hall of Famer Hank Aaron.
“There were countless individuals, and Hank Aaron was one of them,” Sherman said. “A lot of people reached out with support and I appreciate all of it, people who really know who you are and what you stand for. They are not as quick to judge.”
“Sherman needs some mentoring that only a black teammate can offer.”
Yeah, it would be nice if one of the more docile thugs teaches this thug how massa wants him to act.
http://regressing.deadspin.com/the-word-thug-was-uttered-625-times-on-tv-yesterday-1506098319
“The word ‘thug’ has been used so many times by the same sort of people about the same sort of thing that it’s no longer even accurate to call it code—it’s really more of a shorthand. It means a black guy who makes white folks a little more uncomfortable than they prefer. On Sunday night, Richard Sherman made a lot of people uncomfortable. Then on Monday, people said thug on TV more often than on any other day in the past three years.”
John530, Thanks very much for the Russell Wilson quote. Mespo knows Russell Wilson well from his youth football days. Wilson is a class act. Hopefully he can have a positive influence on Richard Sherman. Sherman needs some mentoring that only a black teammate can offer. He couldn’t so any better to have Russell Wilson as his mentor.
Mr. Neal, I lettered in football for 3 years in high school[OT]. I lettered 2 years in baseball[my love] and then injured my eye and throwing shoulder playing football, ending my baseball days. I have coached baseball from Little League to Legion Ball for 30 years. I’ve spoken about this previously but understand you’re new. Disrespecting the game, the team, the opponent or the umpires was unacceptable and not tolerated. Many kids know how to act. Some don’t and so it was my job to teach them what was acceptable behavior. If they showed up anyone, their ass was on the bench. I benched kids when I only had 9 players, using 2 outfielders. I only had a few kids who didn’t change their negative behavior. In 70’s and 80’s it wasn’t that much of a problem. In the mid 90’s it got worse and worse. I haven’t coached for the last 8 years or so.
When I went to dinner in downtown Palm Springs this evening I had a thought. There is the famous Palm Springs Follies that has run for years in the historic Plaza Theatre. All of the performers in this burlesque event have to be over 60. They always have a headliner and this closing season it’s Maureen McGovern. Remember her?? Well, these folks exiting the theatre and heading for the early bird specials reminded me of my parents. But, the truth is, I’m almost their age. Then it hit me. This controversy is not just about race..but race does sell. As I’ve said previously, it’s also about money. But, my God, how could we have missed this, it’s also generational. Think of TRULY great black players on team sports. I’m not asking you to go back to the 40’s and 50’s. I’m saying just 15-20 years ago. Richard Sherman is a good cornerback. He’s not yet great, he’s good. Jim Brown, Barry Sanders, Walter Payton, Franco Harris, Jerry Rice, I could go on. In basketball, the greatest player of all time, Michael Jordan. I offer Kareem, Magic, Clyde Drexler, again I could go on. These were GREAT players, not some cornerback who made a great play. They would NEVER had acted like this. And, like Mr. Turley, I am not willing to lower the bar and make this type behavior acceptable. Any kid who played for me was taught the very simple concept. Respect and honesty builds trust. And to be a team you need all 3. But the trust part is precious. One betrayal, and it could be lost forever. THIS is what is important.
One of my objections is that people who have never been involved in athletic physical endeavors cannot understand what it means to be in the moment but are willing to call someone a ‘THUG’. I have been there. Have Prof. Turley or Spinelli been there? From their comments, I doubt it.
This kind of thing is another reason I pulled the plug on cable TV. Not worth watching, and the more I learn about the post-concussion obfuscation by the NFL, and coverup of college athlete illiteracy by college administrators, the less inclined I am to watch football.
I quit watching baseball during the player’s strike.
Newton Minow was right in 1961 when he described television as, “…a vast wasteland.” More recently he observed that it was indeed a vast wasteland in 1961, but, “Now it is a toxic dump.”
About the ASU party, mentioned in the comment posted at 8:53 p:
“Civil rights leaders are calling for the expulsion of members of the Arizona State University chapter of Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity who planned and participated in a Martin Luther King Jr.-themed party that mocked black people.”
http://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-fraternity-mlk-asu-20140121,0,3463169.story#ixzz2rBN5HF5f
Again, as Paola Boivin, with azcentral sports, noted:
“We’re not as civilized as we like to believe.
Just ask the fraternity brothers at Tau Kappa Epsilon.”