I had brought this issue up in my journal entry and thought that it would be a topic that maybe some would like to discuss. Some of you may be familiar with Richard Sherman’s interview with Erin Andrews after a NFL playoff game a few weeks ago. Sherman came off as very egotistical and arrogant to the public because of the words and tone that he chose to use. All forms of the media blew up with different responses. The most intriguing responses to this interview, and the most relatable to our class, were found on twitter by several different people. First, many people had some extremely racist things to say about Sherman, claiming that he was a “typical black person” by being very aggressive with his words. I found this to be particularly offensive and it also made me wonder about a few things. If Sherman would have said something generous and showed respect for opposing players rather than trash talking them, what would have people said then? This thought pointed me towards a conversation we had on Thursday about confirmatory bias. I am willing to bet that those who previously had negative views about other races would have ignored Sherman’s generosity, if that were the case, and maybe they would have even would have still gotten something negative from his about his compliments. I have a probing question regarding this topic. How do you think the public would have received Sherman’s words if he was white?
Here are a few links to catch you up.
http://deadspin.com/richard-sherman-and-the-plight-of-the-conquering-negro-1505060117