Report: Hawks Players Don't Think RW is Black Enough

[Cartire]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/DDMon710/status/525381289504165888[/tweet]

Holy shit.

 

[razgriz737]

ADB's THOUGHTS ON THIS:

[tweet]https://twitter.com/FLYASAPIDGEON/status/525318012594061312[/tweet]
[tweet]https://twitter.com/DougBaldwinJr/status/525328615194787840[/tweet]
[tweet]https://twitter.com/FLYASAPIDGEON/status/525329085871181824[/tweet]
[tweet]https://twitter.com/DougBaldwinJr/status/525330375955214336[/tweet]

 

[byau]

I just re-read Wilson's scouting report. Nowhere did it say "not black enough" so I'm calling BS on the whole thing.

No...it's there on page 4. How did the FO miss this!?!?!

Fire Bevell.

That fine print was pretty tough to see underneath the giant "HE'S TOO SHORT!!!!" Notation.

man you guys have me in chuckles ....

 

[byau]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/DDMon710/status/525381289504165888[/tweet]

Holy shit.

HOOOLLLLLYYYY Shhhh ttttt

 

[byau]

ADB's THOUGHTS ON THIS:

[tweet]https://twitter.com/FLYASAPIDGEON/status/525318012594061312[/tweet]
[tweet]https://twitter.com/DougBaldwinJr/status/525328615194787840[/tweet]
[tweet]https://twitter.com/FLYASAPIDGEON/status/525329085871181824[/tweet]
[tweet]https://twitter.com/DougBaldwinJr/status/525330375955214336[/tweet]

This too. ADB telling it like it is.

This thread ..nice refreshing change from trying to figure out if we'll be above .500 next week.

 

[byau]

Nicely written article by ex player Carl Banks on this

https://medium.com/the-cauldron/blackwa ... d4fe07ce3c

Bumping this, it is a really REALLY good article, well-written/well-spoken. Thanks Sgt Largent for posting it

 

[ZagHawk]

[youtube]kga2soqvMF0[/youtube]


This is better.

 

[LymonHawk]

Nicely written article by ex player Carl Banks on this

https://medium.com/the-cauldron/blackwa ... d4fe07ce3c

Bumping this, it is a really REALLY good article, well-written/well-spoken. Thanks Sgt Largent for posting it

Terrific article! Thanks for posting. :th2thumbs:

 

[Barthawk]

I can't believe this trash made it to Sportscenter. I am embarrassed to be an American when crap like this comes out regardless of a team. Not black enough or a white person acting "too black"... give it rest..

 

[DeSeahawk]

While I think this whole thing is bullsh*t, I'm glad the report says the claim is coming from other players. Imagine if it was Paul Allen saying Russell isn't black enough. There'd be no discussion if it was racist. It would be and Taintlicker Goodell would be telling Mr Allen he'd have to sell the team to Al Sharpton.

 

[XxXdragonXxX]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/DDMon710/status/525381289504165888[/tweet]

Didn't know Russell was Hispanic...

 

[HawkAroundTheClock]

This particular story, painting the Seahawks' locker room as rife with racial problems is nonsense. The past couple years, guys like Moffitt and M-Rob were joking about Tiger Woods colored spray paint, and Bennett's impersonation of RW is somewhere between Urkel and Pee-Wee Herman. That's human; to have a collection of 53 men, plus coaches and administration, from all walks of life in one building, each one of whom brings every memory and experience regarding teamwork, leadership, identity, and every social interaction and supposition, including ethnicity and race. Good-natured ribbing and nicknames are a very healthy way to acknowledge differences while uniting as a team.

The issue of "black enough" is real, but it's more than skin color. It's more economic, cultural, and regional than anything. The same thing happens in rural white America. Someone gets out of "The Holler" (Archer fans?) and gets an education and salaried career, then comes home to the same exact attitude of "you're not one of us anymore, but we know where you're from." They aren't saying "not white enough" but... they're white. When do white people ever qualify their own skin or anyone else's as being white? Not unless they're trying to get a tan.

Anyway, a historically oppressed population using a descriptor of their oppressors as an insult toward one of "their own" is absolutely not the same racism as one of the historically oppressed being called a deragatory term by someone who shares the ethnicity of the oppressors. IF Percy called Russell "not black enough" or something like it, he doesn't mean every white person is oppressive and evil. He's using a historical precedent that is still alive and well in most areas to varying degrees, including VA, to say that he thinks that Russell thinks he is better than the down-home dudes in the locker room who still identify with their original 'hood.

It's not a racism thing. It's an "us vs them" thing, which can find dividing lines between high schools, counties, neighborhoods, subdivisions, hill people vs valley people, or literally anywhere. These guys happen to come from the same racially-charged, historically oppressive region – but with completely different experiences – where identifying with The Man, whether it be the plantations of yore, the cops, or the Front Office, holds a negative kind of feel for some.

When white people are confronted with the racism of whites and respond with "what about black-on-black crime?" they miss the whole point. Crying "racism" when one black guy tells another black guy he isn't "black enough" is a convenient way to say, "See, we are all racist, so don't judge me just because I'm white." It's okay, it's a natural defense. But I think we all see race, we respond to race, we know the history of race in this country, and this does not make every singular mention of race or acting "white" or acting "black" in itself emblematic of a racist attitude or philosophy.

Racism is killing someone for their skin color. Firing someone, or refusing to hire them for their skin color. Not allowing your children play with other children because of skin color. That's racism.

The Seahawks locker room situation is way more nuanced than the "racism" umbrella can cover. And given the SB-week incident with Golden, the scrape with Baldwin, and the refusal to play, this particular story is all about the individual William Percival Harvin III.

Russell, Percy and Kam are all from VA, but they didn't run in the same circles. We all knew the "rich" schools and the "poor" schools where we grew up. We knew the jocks, preppies, homies, scrubs, and geeks. RW always had his sights on greatness. His vision as a leader and his approach to his faith shaped his personality and how he caries himself. In order to deal with front offices, CEOs, and players from all corners, he works the way he works.

Percy has his ideas and until his tell-all exposé "What Could Be Worse-y? It's Percy!" ghost co-written by Stephen A. and Skippy-pants, we'll never really know what they are. But he strikes me as a person who might use any angle he can to cramp your style if he thinks that you think you are better than him. Typical tough guy, million-dollar-athleticism 5-cent-head stuff.

RW making guys around him better is his job. To Percy, it's an affront. And it doesn't help that RW went to the preppy, rich, vastly-white high school back in VA. That's a universal, peer pressure, economic divide, territorial pissing match right there. It's just weird because 1) everyone but Percy is at least a little more grown up than that, and 2) it gets blown up in one of 50 billion media outlets as a "black enough" allegation.

But it's way more about an emotionally needy, anger-management problem than it is a racism problem.

 

[SeaTown81]

How bout somebody asks Baldwin the validity of Davis Hsu claiming Baldwin told him that Wilson is phony. Or has that happened already? Sorry, I don't pay attention to that BS.

 

[razgriz737]

How bout somebody asks Baldwin the validity of Davis Hsu claiming Baldwin told him that Wilson is phony. Or has that happened already? Sorry, I don't pay attention to that BS.

Doug essentially said it was BS but Hsu said he has some texts that prove his side of the story. So that one's just kinda up in the air right now.

 

[hgwellz12]

This particular story, painting the Seahawks' locker room as rife with racial problems is nonsense. The past couple years, guys like Moffitt and M-Rob were joking about Tiger Woods colored spray paint, and Bennett's impersonation of RW is somewhere between Urkel and Pee-Wee Herman. That's human; to have a collection of 53 men, plus coaches and administration, from all walks of life in one building, each one of whom brings every memory and experience regarding teamwork, leadership, identity, and every social interaction and supposition, including ethnicity and race. Good-natured ribbing and nicknames are a very healthy way to acknowledge differences while uniting as a team.

The issue of "black enough" is real, but it's more than skin color. It's more economic, cultural, and regional than anything. The same thing happens in rural white America. Someone gets out of "The Holler" (Archer fans?) and gets an education and salaried career, then comes home to the same exact attitude of "you're not one of us anymore, but we know where you're from." They aren't saying "not white enough" but... they're white. When do white people ever qualify their own skin or anyone else's as being white? Not unless they're trying to get a tan.

Anyway, a historically oppressed population using a descriptor of their oppressors as an insult toward one of "their own" is absolutely not the same racism as one of the historically oppressed being called a deragatory term by someone who shares the ethnicity of the oppressors. IF Percy called Russell "not black enough" or something like it, he doesn't mean every white person is oppressive and evil. He's using a historical precedent that is still alive and well in most areas to varying degrees, including VA, to say that he thinks that Russell thinks he is better than the down-home dudes in the locker room who still identify with their original 'hood.

It's not a racism thing. It's an "us vs them" thing, which can find dividing lines between high schools, counties, neighborhoods, subdivisions, hill people vs valley people, or literally anywhere. These guys happen to come from the same racially-charged, historically oppressive region – but with completely different experiences – where identifying with The Man, whether it be the plantations of yore, the cops, or the Front Office, holds a negative kind of feel for some.

When white people are confronted with the racism of whites and respond with "what about black-on-black crime?" they miss the whole point. Crying "racism" when one black guy tells another black guy he isn't "black enough" is a convenient way to say, "See, we are all racist, so don't judge me just because I'm white." It's okay, it's a natural defense. But I think we all see race, we respond to race, we know the history of race in this country, and this does not make every singular mention of race or acting "white" or acting "black" in itself emblematic of a racist attitude or philosophy.

Racism is killing someone for their skin color. Firing someone, or refusing to hire them for their skin color. Not allowing your children play with other children because of skin color. That's racism.

The Seahawks locker room situation is way more nuanced than the "racism" umbrella can cover. And given the SB-week incident with Golden, the scrape with Baldwin, and the refusal to play, this particular story is all about the individual William Percival Harvin III.

Russell, Percy and Kam are all from VA, but they didn't run in the same circles. We all knew the "rich" schools and the "poor" schools where we grew up. We knew the jocks, preppies, homies, scrubs, and geeks. RW always had his sights on greatness. His vision as a leader and his approach to his faith shaped his personality and how he caries himself. In order to deal with front offices, CEOs, and players from all corners, he works the way he works.

Percy has his ideas and until his tell-all exposé "What Could Be Worse-y? It's Percy!" ghost co-written by Stephen A. and Skippy-pants, we'll never really know what they are. But he strikes me as a person who might use any angle he can to cramp your style if he thinks that you think you are better than him. Typical tough guy, million-dollar-athleticism 5-cent-head stuff.

RW making guys around him better is his job. To Percy, it's an affront. And it doesn't help that RW went to the preppy, rich, vastly-white high school back in VA. That's a universal, peer pressure, economic divide, territorial pissing match right there. It's just weird because 1) everyone but Percy is at least a little more grown up than that, and 2) it gets blown up in one of 50 billion media outlets as a "black enough" allegation.

But it's way more about an emotionally needy, anger-management problem than it is a racism problem.

Great post!
I was really starting to get worried... I KNEW we had intelligent fans here...and HONEST.

 

[-The Glove-]

How bout somebody asks Baldwin the validity of Davis Hsu claiming Baldwin told him that Wilson is phony. Or has that happened already? Sorry, I don't pay attention to that BS.

Wendellwent said in another thread, Baldwin didn't say what Hsu is saying. He kind of ran with it

 

[Hawkpower]

First, a huge disclaimer: I'm going to proceed as if these reports are true, and as if they actually matter. The first assumption is whatever, but the second is a load and a laugher. In terms of the Hawks' performance (and performance moving forward) I seriously doubt any of this matters. A fair number of .net posters cackled and predicted imminent doom while 9ers fans were hearing reports of internal strife earlier this year. That was dumb. It would be dumb to do the same with these reports, regardless of fandom. Again, even if true I seriously doubt if any of this matters re: the Hawks' on-field performance

Thoughts on the topic of RW dissension:


A) Although less salacious, that RW 1) is perceived as being too close to the suits and 2) won't internally take the blame for his mistakes (while presenting himself as St. Russell in the media) are much more telling about what (if anything) is going on.

B) While these claims can sometimes be true of QBs (the former in particular; the latter I've heard about Peyton, but you don't usually here it), they tend to be made about QBs who are the the unequivocal leaders of their respective teams. They're not only the face of the franchise, but the gameplan goes through them, and their stats are what drives victories. RW can't make any of those claims (yet), making him being "too close" to the suits or not taking blame a little bit more insidious of an accustation.

C) This report probably provides some insight into ADB's tweet about people presenting "fake" images in the media; St. Russell in the media doesn't match the behind the scenes guy who blames his WRs or OLine for his own mistakes.


Thoughts on the actual topic of the thread:


1. I don't know why SonicHawk is so inclined to keep on falling on his own sword (maybe he's just more optimistic than I), but people should listen to him. He's spot on in this thread over and over again. He's referenced possibly getting temp-banned for what he's posting, but that would be crazy. IMO he's showing a ton of patience actually answering the typical rhetorical bait-questions that are regularly used as a tool by some to prevent actuall discussion of these types of issues (see? I'm MUCH more pessimistic than him :lol: ).

2. As was said previously, simply reducing this to how RW speaks is entirely missing the point of the claim (which I'm not saying is a legitimate claim about RW or generally). It has much more to do with #1 and #2 (from above) than that. By way of example, Sherman grew up solidly middle class (albeit in a poor neighborhood), went to Stanford, and speaks textbook English as well as anybody. He's not getting accused of this, though. Rather than being "too close to the suits", he called out the NFL this summer for their tone deaf penalization of the "N" word b/n AA players on the field.* Long story short, seriously, this claim REALLY isn't about grammar and usage. It is MUCH, MUCH, MUCH more complicated than that.

3.

I'm entertained by the likelihood that most of the people playing the race card in this thread are white.

It's ALWAYS that way, just as it's ALWAYS the people who take the bait and respond seriously who are somehow treated as "politicizing" the thread and are at risk of getting warnings and bans.** It's as ridiculous as it is common.


*Like this, another conversation that's internal to the AA community which the vast majority of media and NFL fans are somehow mostly tone deaf too. It's a tension between the AA middle-upper and lower-working classes that's over 100 years old in the U.S. (e.g. the debates between W.E.B. Dubois and Booker T. Washington in the 19th century :lol: )

****Not saying here in particular, just saying across the Internet generally

And what do you suppose the race is of the people claiming that racism plays no role in this situation whatsoever?

 

[brimsalabim]

"Not black enough" May be a real thing but It is a term used only by the ignorant, the lazy, and the classless.

 

[SoulfishHawk]

Seems pretty damn insulting. So, if you are smart, articulate and carry yourself w/some intelligence, you can't be black? :roll:

 

[Hawkpower]

Seems pretty damn insulting. So, if you are smart, articulate and carry yourself w/some intelligence, you can't be black? :roll:

Guess that would be a great question for Percy and any other African American who makes this claim.