Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman has an amazing response over at Sports Illustrated to all the bogus moralizing about former Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson, who was cut last week for alleged gang ties to members of the Crips. In short, Sherman says that it's ridiculous to think players who grew up in rough neighborhoods with troublesome friends should cut ties with those people once they reach the pros. Rather, he argues that it's better to maintain those relationships and try to "educate them on the right way of doing things" so they can become better people.
But the most salient bit comes when Sherman addresses the blatant racial double standard in the NFL — and really, pro sports in general — when it comes to supposed character flaws. Having been pilloried as a scary black man, an exemplar of "thug culture" for his braggadocio in last year's playoffs, it's an issue Sherman knows intimately. He writes:
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