Who was it that demanded to know Russell Wilson’s take on current events? C’mon, fess up! Somebody asked – probably a 49ers fan wanting somebody else’s QB to look like an idiot for a change.
In a bizarre Facebook Live stream from a seat in a barber shop Tuesday, Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson decided to trim President Donald Trump down to size while getting his locks cut. Many in the media were shocked that the normally bland Wilson let loose, while begging Barack Obama to come back.
Seattle Times columnist Bob Condotta reported:
Wilson’s roughly four-minute statement came as he was getting his hair cut and began with him commenting on the “thing that’s going on’’ with Trump becoming president and new policy regarding immigrants.
“Despite anybody’s political issues or views, everybody has a right to choose who they want to vote for,’’ Wilson said. “But this thing is getting out of hand — getting out of hand, people.
Just so you know, I voted for Hillary (Clinton). But when you think about it’s only been two weeks right? Or even less (someone interrupts to say it’s been 10 days). We’ve got to attack this issue here. So basically, I think that when you think about all the negativity that’s happened within a 10-day period, however many days it’s been, it’s already too much. It’s already crazy. It’s already affecting people’s hearts and souls and lives in such a negative way, in my opinion.
Coupling that insightful analysis with the political prognostication for which he is absolutely not known, Wilson said, “I don’t even know if he’s going to be able last four years, in my opinion. You don’t want to wish bad upon anybody because if he doesn’t last four years that means that something went wrong. So hopefully nothing goes wrong anymore than what it’s already doing. But it’s just been a crazy 10 days already and you know ... ’’
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In shades of the movie Shane, Wilson yelled for the return of his hero: “Barack (Obama)! Come back Barack! Come back!’’
That creepy Obama cult of personality dies hard, no?
Reactions are popping up all over the Internet and sports television. Left-stream media like the Washington Post and USAToday mainly just focused on Wilson’s quotes and let him run with the ball on their anti-Trump sentiments.
In the New York Daily News, Ebenezer Samuel clearly agreed with Wilson: “Just how bad is the current climate in the United States in these early days of President Donald Trump? So bad that even Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson is now talking politics and equality and questioning the long-term future of the new president.”
Among those commenting on Seattle’s ESPN 710 Radio, Danny O’Neil, took the middle of the road: “You like it when athletes and/or coaches speak up provided they share your political views. That’s shallow and it’s bound to lead to disappointment. Either you want to know about what people inside sports think about the world at large – and all the contradictions and complexities that might entail – or you want a stick-to-sports version that is clean and uncomplicated.”
Former pro quarterback Brock Huard, also commenting on ESPN Radio 710 Seattle, talked about how the tide has turned in sports media: “Ten years ago, they told me in the business, ‘Don’t talk about religion, don’t talk about politics, don’t talk about sex, don’t talk about any of these things.’ Ten years later, it’s a very different landscape.”
Jason Whitlock, speaking on ESPN’s I’m Just Sayin’ said corporations like Nike once told the athletes they sponsored not to get controversial. But now Nike is just fine with athletes’ speaking out. “I don’t call it courageous,” Whitlock said. On the same broadcast, retired NFL receiver Greg Jennings agreed Wilson is not taking a courageous stand because he’s not “standing alone on an island.” Jennings said he does not have to voice his opinions on social media because it’s more important for parents to “make sure their kids understand” what’s going on in the world.
CBS Sports ran Wilson’s pointed comments and concluded its post by referencing an attack on Trump by Pittsburgh Steelers offensive lineman Ryan Harris, a Muslim. He said Trump's immigration ban came “from the playbook of hatred and divisiveness.”
