Originally published Saturday, October 25, 2014 at 6:08 PM
As easy as it is to attack anonymous Seahawks for turning this into a racial identity thing, the issue of how a quarterback wins a locker room is a difficult and delicate conversation.
Times staff columnist
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Russell Wilson is black enough for me.
We don't have a special handshake, or communicate in slang or synchronize our pimp walk. Those are just a few of the tame, lame stereotypes of African-American behavior, perpetuated sadly by our own race almost as much as non-blacks. The notion there is a box that must fit an entire group of people is absurd and intellectually dishonest, but Wilson learned last week that he's supposedly in violation of unwritten rules of blackness.
The Bleacher Report's Mike Freeman, a respected longtime NFL scribe, brought up the issue in writing about the Seahawks' discord that led to the Percy Harvin trade. In the story, Freeman writes: 'There's also an element of race that needs to be discussed. My feeling on this - and it's backed up by several interviews with Seahawks players - is that some of the black players think Wilson isn't black enough.'
Freeman goes on to include some smart and nuanced perspective that defends Wilson, but the 'isn't black enough' part has proved too inflammatory to temper.
Wilson has handled it with great class and a desire to focus only on moving forward. He refused to fuel the story line of turmoil in the Seattle locker room. He refused to bad-mouth Percy Harvin. He refused even to admit this is the first major trial of his three-year NFL career.
'To be the starting quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks - come on! - it doesn't get any better,' Wilson said.
Wilson showed tremendous maturity and restraint to stay away from issues that, deep down, must hurt him. You should admire his ability to focus only on trying to cure what ails his 3-3 football team.
When Richard Sherman was being called a thug after his post-NFC Championship Game rants nine months ago, the Seahawks cornerback exposed a race issue and stomped on it with great eloquence, and we were all the better for it. That's Sherman, who has never encountered an argument he could avoid. He's the kid from Compton, Calif., who went to Stanford partly to make a point about what's possible for people who endure a rough upbringing. He's fearless and intelligent, and despite all the trash-talking, he sets a great example for the African-American athlete.
Wilson does the same in his own way. He grew up in a Virginia prep school. His parents are well educated. His late father, Harrison Wilson III, was part of a family tradition of attending Dartmouth. His grandfather was the president of Norfolk State University for 22 years.
Wilson is an articulate 25-year-old franchise quarterback who, at an early age, started preparing for how to handle this big stage. He's intentional in his actions, and he'll probably never stray from his clean-cut image. In a style much different from Sherman, Wilson sets a great example for the African-American athlete.
So, why the 'isn't black enough' jab? Ultimately, it's about the ignorance of a few anonymous Seahawks pandering to the lowest common denominator of black behavior. But while these nameless critics didn't express themselves properly, they do reveal an issue that must stay within Wilson's awareness.
If you go back to the Freeman story, he wrote mostly about how Harvin had become an 'accelerant' of anti-Wilson bad vibes in the locker room. The story mentions Wilson's close relationship to the front office and the players' feeling that he doesn't take enough responsibility for his mistakes on the field.
It sounds a lot like 'isn't black enough' is the harshest way of saying that Wilson doesn't come across as human enough in the locker room. And as easy as it is to chastise anonymous Seahawks for turning this into a racial identity thing, the issue of how a quarterback wins a locker room is difficult, delicate and worthy of conversation.
Wilson is so driven that he must be careful and remember to slow down and manage his relationships on the team. When it comes to film study and preparation, it seems as if Wilson is an extreme example of a studious quarterback. He thrives on routine so much that every minute of his day is predetermined, which makes it near impossible to engage in the joking and random fun that bonds a locker room.
Quarterback is the hardest position to play in team sports, and among the many challenges for Wilson is that he must alternate between being the Seahawks' superhero and their peer. Everyone knows he's Superman, and everyone needs to know that he can be Clark Kent, and everyone must be OK with the duality.
Wilson is so intense that he might unintentionally forget the balancing act. When you're winning, Wilson, the isolated superstar, is just Russell being Russell. When you're losing and the offense isn't flowing, Wilson is suddenly the star who thinks he's better than everyone.
This is a sophisticated concept that can be whittled down to 'isn't black enough' if you're young and emotional and wanting to be dumb and hurtful. Wilson is an affluent black man who likes to dress business casual and who was previously married to a blonde woman. He has a lot of white friends in his inner circle. He plays a position historically dominated by white men, and instead of going out of his way to declare himself different, he blends. His public demeanor is more Tom Brady than Cam Newton.
But does this make him less black than Newton? Of course not. For a young quarterback, Wilson handles the balancing act in the locker room OK, in general. But Harvin's presence on the team was too disruptive, and it revealed some things that Wilson can clean up.
It's not just his play that wins over his teammates. It's his willingness to connect, too. He doesn't need a locker room full of best buddies, but more dinners, more private conversations, more understanding and more of a day-to-day locker room presence might be needed.
Contrary to anonymous thought, he's black enough to handle it.
Now, the young superhero needs to be human enough.
Jerry Brewer: 206-464-2277 or jbrewer@seattletimes.com. On Twitter @JerryBrewer
Posted by Unknown on Sunday, October 26, 2014 - Rating: 4.5
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