Why do people dislike Russell Wilson with such seething enmity? What exactly did he do to so many people to earn such emotion?
Entering his thirteenth NFL season, Russell Wilson will find himself in a new city, playing for a new team. Now, in the NFL, the player movement remains an integral part of the business model. Similarly, players both earn positive reputations for what they do on and off the field. From the love for Bart Starr to the animus for Conrad Dobler, fans, media, and fellow players have their choices. Yet, few recent players engender such a strong execration for Wilson. Now, this will peel back a few layers of the proverbial onion, so if you are not one to read deeply, skipping this op/ed will not hurt anything.
Underdog
Originally a zero-star recruit, Wilson plied his trade at North Carolina State before transferring to Wisconsin. In Madison, he led the Badgers to a Rose Bowl berth. Scouts really took issue with Wilson’s height and detailed his issue with throwing the deep ball. In all honesty, these folks needed to be fired on the spot. Granted, he’s not six-feet-tall or looks like the prototypical NFL quarterback. However, his agility and arm strength became evident early. Wilson became the quarterback during the Seattle championship run. Beating the Broncos sideways should have cemented his legacy, but the slings and arrows flew from every direction. Twelve consecutive 3,000-yard passing seasons and a three-to-one touchdown ratio cannot go understated.
Personality
Russell Wilson, by all accounts, does not do anything but hang out with his family. He attends church regularly. While not my personal cup of tea, not going to shade that man for this. If you observe Wilson through the lens of the NFL superstar, he’s boring. You probably won’t catch him buying the bar or testing the wings at Magic City. (Nothing wrong with the latter, just saying that is not his style) Meanwhile, his vocal inflections during interviews annoy so many people. They should not. Trust me, Russell Wilson spends more time living his life than worrying about what jealous clowns have to say. They say the best revenge is living well. Number Three exacts that revenge on the daily.
Wait, What?
Yes, self-hate is what some in the Black community feel, especially when someone that looks like them, but doesn’t act like them. “He sounds White.” Under no circumstance should a rational, semi-intelligent person ever say that, ever, Wilson speaks the way that he’s always spoken. Not using AAVE doesn’t make someone less Black. Similarly, using it does not make one Blacker. Unfortunately, there are people in the community that police Blackness and assign it to whom they deem deserving. It’s a hateful game, nasty work that goes back to the days of slavery. Right now, there are people angry at people like Russell Wilson for absolutely no reason. In their opinion, they feel his lack of Blackness or what they consider Black, offends them. Worried about the wrong things.
An Outlier in His Own Community
Russell Wilson is Black, plain and simple. Yet, he never received the same love that many other Black athletes received. Why? Is it his religiousness? No, other Black players are just as religious. Honestly, there is a prevailing thought among the woefully clownish that Wilson is “corny.” In other words, many feel like he doesn’t exude the coolness that many in the Black community desire in their athletes. By every metric, that thought pattern is simultaneously ignorant and insulting. There is a sad thought that rumbles through the community Wilson is lesser because he does not look, act, or seem cool. It’s aligned with internalized racism. Instead of appreciating his contributions, folks want to exhibit superhuman levels of trifling behavior.
Jealousy
If you look at the criticism and the sources, the stench of envy permeates the air. First, Wilson is an NFL quarterback, a potential Hall of Famer with more money than he knows to do with. Next, he’s married to singer Ciara. Yes, the guy that so many of the “cool” folks think is a herb, married a famous singer and has children with her. This starts from some in the community and feels like the crabs-in-a-barrel mentality. There is even a point where some actually hope that rapper Future fights Wilson. Future is the ex-fiancée and father to her oldest son. In the real world, people forget that Wilson absorbs hits from 260-plus pound players four months of out the year.
When Coaches Act Out
Normally, in this space, I attempt to give coaches critique based on football matters. However, Sean Payton’s palpable disdain for Wilson wandered into personal and never left that area. In the preseason, Payton excoriated Wilson by saying this. On what planet does that level of disrespect need to transpire? Sean Payton was only considered a great coach because of Drew Brees. The disrespect happened because Payton knew that he could skate in the situation because Wilson is coachable and not going to lash out. In all honesty, similar language ended the P.J. Carlesimo situation. Hard coaching is one thing, disrespecting someone to an exceedingly dangerous extent. Have fun eating those 85 million dollars in dead cap money. Also, you play in the same division as the Chiefs, Chargers with Jim Harbaugh and the Raiders. No bounties will help you there.
Overview
In a world of “look at me” behavior, Russell Wilson is an anomaly. He spends hundreds of thousands of philanthropic endeavors and spends time with his family. Can’t think of one scandal involving him. Now, this article has been less about Russell Wilson the player and more about the man who puts up with such mean-spirited behavior from different directions. Just before publishing, Wilson wrote a goodbye to Denver. He thanked everyone from the players to fans to cafeteria staff. All in all, Russell Wilson seems like a decent human being. If a team decided to mistreat me, I would have used every four, five. ten, and twelve-letter expletive under the sun.
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