All-Pro Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman saw Houston Texans owner Bob McNair‘s “inmates” comment as more than lazy phrasing — Sherman thinks McNair’s choice exposes his deeply held beliefs about the NFL power structure and the value owners really place on the players. McNair used a common phrase — “can’t have the inmates running the prison” — in a meeting about how to handle the NFL’s image problem, a problem created by multiple NFL players kneeling during the national anthem at games. McNair surely doesn’t think the NFL is a prison — he writes checks too big to make that mistake — but his choice of phrase does equate the protesting NFL players with prisoners. The same equation, of course, makes the owners into prison wardens. McNair apologized for using an “figure of speech that was never intended to be taken literally.” But the question Sherman asks is whether built-in, systemic racism and classism — which he believes McNair’s word choice exposes — isn’t just as bad? Sherman believes that if McNair had chosen a more careful phrase it would have enabled him to “hide” his true identity and beliefs. So Sherman says he’s happy that McNair spoke as he did. Indeed, Sherman urged McNair not to apologize, saying “you meant what you said. Showing true colors allows ppl to see you for who you are.”
Sherman kept coming, writing “I can appreciate ppl being candid.” Sherman’s “appreciation” in essence praises McNair for not being careful with his words, but for being transparent instead. “I wish more ppl would do that,” Sherman wrote on Twitter, so they might suffer the consequences of being exposed for who they really are. Sherman thinks those consequences would include ostracization from a society that is dominated by people who think otherwise, who appreciate equality, but who hold less power to see it implemented. If more people spoke honestly and overtly about how they felt, Sherman believes “the world could ostracize those who don’t want to see EQUALITY. Otherwise they will continue to hide.” The sad problem with Sherman’s argument is that its very premise has proven shaky lately, with blatant race-baiting being a winning tactic in recent elections, where it failed to be a dealbreaker not just for 80-year-old billionaires like McNair, but for everyday Americans who either supported or somehow managed to overlook the racist messaging of recent successful political campaigns. McNair, perhaps not coincidentally, was a major donor to Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.
Statement from Texans Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Robert C. McNair: pic.twitter.com/EXdwKZ4y4x
— Texans PR (@TexansPR) October 27, 2017
I can appreciate ppl being candid. Don’t apologize! You meant what you said. Showing true colors allows ppl to see you for who you are.
— Richard Sherman (@RSherman_25) October 27, 2017
I wish more ppl would do that. So the world could ostracize those who don’t want to see EQUALITY. Otherwise they will continue to hide
— Richard Sherman (@RSherman_25) October 27, 2017
