theatlantic: Richard Sherman: The New, True All-American As a...

theatlantic:

Richard Sherman: The New, True All-American

As a citizen of Seattle, I’ve been aware of Richard Sherman for some time. I knew he was one of the best corners in football and had come from Compton to Stanford to the NFL. I knew he was a strategic trash-talker who goaded opposing receivers into committing costly penalties. I knew he was capable of an aggressive, boastful flamboyance that is at odds with “Seattle nice”—and that’s therefore deeply appealing to noisy Seahawk partisans seeking release from everyday sublimation.

What I didn’t know was that Richard Sherman was also ready to represent the nation. He contains at once three narratives that the great organizer Marshall Ganz says are key to social transformation: a story of self, a story of us, and a story of now.

In all the reverberating sound and fury since Sherman’s postgame interview, Sherman’s been derided as a loudmouth by people who once considered that a badge of honor. He’s been called many ugly racist names, and was depicted literally as the alien other (that is, the creature from Alien) on Twitter.

But let’s face it. Richard Sherman is as all-American as all-American gets.

Read more. [Image: Elaine Thompson/AP]

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