#richard sherman

Bill Romanowski took a lot of heat on Twitter for referring to Cam Newton as “boy” in his tweet. The word, which can seem so harmless without some context, has a history with racist connotations. At one point in America, a black man aged 50 would be referred to as boy and nobody would bat their lashes because it was a way for white men to exert power and authority over black men. Before apologizing, Romanowski tried to explain that his comment was about Cam’s age and lack of maturity. All season there have been complaints about his dabbing and dancing in celebrating victories, as an ESPN sports reporter stated “Cam Newton showed his personality all season with his dabbin’ and dancing. Many loved him for it. Some criticized him for it” It is not a stretch that someone who celebrated so vividly would also feel a loss at the super bowl ring just as deeply. So why is Romanowski attacking Cam?

When black men are vocal about their success and do not look for the approval of white people, it seems to cause a lot of unrest and conversations about a lack of respect and humility. On Twitter, there was an image of Cam wearing his Carolina Panthers’ winter hat in an interview compared with Peyton Manning, who’s dressed in a suit, etc. The caption on the picture said “It’s not about race! Peyton is dressed for success &Cam is dressed like a thug…” The NFL gear, which Manning has at times worn, has yet to brand him as a thug. Cam has worn flashy, expensive suits pre-game that have also been the talk of the town, has drawn mocks and jeers as well as admiration. Weren’t all of his suits enough to erase Cam’s “thug” appearance? Is it because he plays an adrenaline filled game, and can get overly passionate (like when he crumpled and threw a 12 flag after a win against the Seahawks)?

DENVER – Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning bundled up on the sideline between posession in the game against the Baltimore Ravens Sunday at Sports Authority Field. Steve Nehf, The Denver Post

Cam Newton does not want his accomplishments and the flak he receives to be about race, but his racialized background and the pattern that seems to follow non-white athletes is disturbing. The representations of black men as thugs and criminals is being perpetuated and carried on media platforms. There have been a lot of negative associations with the NFL’s black athletes – Michael Vick served a sentence for dog-fighting, and Ray Rice, who knocked out his wife with a punch. The disparity between the narratives of the idealized All-American football player, who is more of a Tom Brady, or a Manning brother and black football players is too great to ignore. Last year the men on the chopping block were Marshawn Lynch and Richard Sherman. Marshawn had a real issue with the press conferences and after getting fined over $50 000 for not speaking to the press and finally resorting to responses like “I’m just here so I don’t get fined.” He finally spoke up before Super Bowl 49 saying:

“I don’t know what story y’all trying to get out of me. I don’t know what image y’all trying to portray of me, “But it don’t matter what y’all think, what y’all say about me because when I go home at night, the same people that I look in the face my family that I love, that’s all that really matter to me. So y’all can go make up whatever y’all want to make up because I don’t say enough for y’all to go and put anything out on me.”

In 2015 Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman shouted “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”, after being interviewed by Erin Andrews who had caught up with him on the field after the game. The responses online to the interview were filled with comments stating that he should show a little class; while others were incredibly racist.

Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch, left, walks off the field with cornerback Richard Sherman, right, after NFL Football training camp, Friday, Aug. 1, 2014, in Renton, Wash. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

Football is a game where players are expected to give their all and not hold back. To expect an outstanding player to be timid is a contradiction of what players are demanded to be on the field, moments after a game or after an exhilarating loss or win, can they really be asked to censor themselves? If that’s the case them not only should Sherman, Lynch and Newton have a reputation for lacking class or being cocky; Brady who was “pretty agitated all night” in a 2015 game where his team -the Patriots, beat the Bills, should have had more respect more humility when yelling at the offense from the sidelines. There are clips of Peyton Manning trying to quiet crowds of a football game while his team has a final offensive possession, and in the same game he later gets upset with a scoreboard operator – shouldn’t he be more reasonable with crowds, and more patient with the scoreboard operator? What all of these men- Brady, Manning, Newton, Lynch and Sherman- have in common is that their talent has brought them to the NFL and to the Super Bowl, what differs is the way that media has decided to portray them.

It is not often that we hear of positivity attached to black identities in the media. If we don’t shout our own praises who will? The worst thing about Cam Newton, Lynch and Sherman is that they won’t take a knee and beg for the approval of others; it seems to me that they should be commended for being unapologetic, black men and they should embrace that narrative because it speaks volumes.