Even if you are not a football fan, there is a good chance you have heard about Richard Sherman and his interview/rant after beating the San Francisco 49‘ers and earning a spot in the Super Bowl. While I am not condoning Sherman’s actions at the end of the game or his amped up spiel afterwards, I did find the responses of others interesting afterwards, especially from Christians.
Without going into all the details (if you are interested, you’ve probably seen it already so you don’t need my explanation and if you don’t care about football, my explanation won’t matter), Sherman made the defensive play to end the game and give the Seahawks the victory, by batting a passed ball away from the receiver. After the game, the worst of what Sherman said was to shout that he was the best at his position and the receiver was mediocre at best. Adding to that, he said, that’s what you get when you try to make a play in his direction with a lesser player. All that was said with a great deal of passion that some translated as angry.
People were quick to offer their opinions of the outburst. Within minutes, facebook and twitterdom were filled with responses. The ones I found most interesting, though, were those from Christians I know. Many called him classless, a thug, an embarrassment, and a variety of other things not so complimentary. Many dismissed him as just a typical “dumb, mouthy, jock” and mocked him for his behavior. There was much piety and a general sense being appalled that someone would carry on like that. Many were not at all shy about sharing their opinions of utter distaste for Sherman in a public forum...
Wait... All this fuss about Richard Sherman having the gall to sound off about the San Francisco players on a live public forum...
So, it is a terrible thing for Richard Sherman to go on a rant about another player and another team in a public forum, but it is perfectly fine for other folks (including Christians) to do the same to him... in a public forum and say things much worse than he ever said? How does that make sense? Is it okay for me to post comments insulting Richard Sherman for insulting someone else? How does that work? Is it okay for me to call him names to as many people as I am able without any consequence, but he should be condemned and punished for doing the same thing because...
Go ahead and insert your own ending, because anything I try to put in there just looks stupid.
And we wonder why people are bothered by the hypocrisy of “Christians?”
Even more, the trashing of Richard Sherman was, for most people, based on a 30 second, emotional outburst and nothing else. Many skewering Sherman barely knew of Sherman before seeing him on the post game interview. Most have no idea that he grew up in Compton, Ca., a place as famous for gangs and drugs as it is for anything else. Most don’t know that Richard Sherman was the Salutatorian of his high school graduating class with a 4.2 GPA (how many spewing their vitriol even had a 3.2 GPA in high school). Or how about the fact that he graduated on time from Stanford and began his graduate degree there before starting pro football (how many of you could even get accepted at Stanford - and don’t say he got in just because of football: take a second look at his high school GPA)? I wonder if those same people know about Sherman’s charity work, about the influence he had on his high school teammates in challenging them to go to college or the ongoing visits and influence he has at his old high school making sure kids think about academics first?
I am not condoning Richard Sherman’s post game comments, but I have a great deal of respect for Richard Sherman because I took the time to find out more about him, rather than basing my opinion of him on a 30-second interview done during one of the most emotional moments of his life. Before blasting him and stereotyping him, I would encourage you to do the same. I would encourage you to do the same with anyone, rather than jumping to conclusions and announcing your ignorance in a public forum. If you are really interested, try this article from Sports Illustrated.
Or how about this - what if the news broadcast all of your facebook posts one evening - would you be proud of all of them? What if they just publicized your worst comment, like, a hundred times one evening, so that people around the country could get to know you better based on that one comment? Would you think it was fair for people to call you names and make assumptions about your character? What if they put you down first, and told you that you were no good (at whatever you do), and then posted the comments for everyone to see? Do you think you might have a chip on your shoulder or be a little angry? Do you think, in the heat of an intense moment, after listening to someone talk trash to you, that you might respond differently than Richard Sherman?
If you derided Sherman for his comments after Sunday’s game, I don’t think you would.
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