First of all, a bit of context. Last night, the Seattle Seahawks beat the San Francisco 49ers to go on to play in the Superbowl. Richard Sherman, a Seahawk (shown above), made the game winning play when he blocked a pass from 49ers Quarterback Colin Kaepernick in the end zone intended for 49ers wide receiver Michael Crabtree (pictured above) that would have given the 49ers the win. In addition to this fact, Crabtree and Sherman
have some personal beef that dates all the way back to the offseason last year. In addition to this fact, the Seahawks and the 49ers are historic rivals who play each other harder than they play other teams. In other words, the tensions were high during this game. After the play, Sherman walked over to talk to Crabtree but Crabtree didn't want to hear it and shoved Sherman in the face. Shortly thereafter, Fox reporter Erin Andrews (a white lady) interviews Sherman (a black man) and this is what he said:
Immediately, the internet went viral with the interview and everybody was weighing in with their comments - most of them charged with the racial overtones of an "angry black man" scarring a poor innocent white woman (
mind you, Sherman graduated 2nd in his high school class and also graduated from Stanford). And, to be fair, Sherman was visibly irritated at Crabtree during the interview and said as much when he called him out by name. But that's enough context. We want to hear your impressions.
1. What are your first impressions of the interview?2. Did Sherman represent himself well?3. Was this 1 step forward or 2 steps back for Black people?4. Is it unfair or reasonable to put a racial overtone on this interview?
