Richard Sherman says ‘thug’ is accepted way of saying the n-word
By Mike Dyce
Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman addressed the media for the first time since the NFC Championship game. The focus of the press conference was Sherman’s post game comments and the backlash, specifically, use of the word “thug.” Sherman, who is very bright, made an interesting point about the word.
“The only reason it bothers me is because it seems like it’s the accepted way of calling somebody the N-word nowadays.”
He invited a debate about what the definition of the word is and gave some examples.
“I saw a hockey game where they threw the puck aside and just started fighting. I saw that and I’m like, ‘So I’m the thug?'”
Sherman was asked about the word again in regards to his background and he elaborated.
“I know some ‘thugs,’ and they know I’m the furthest thing from a thug. I’ve fought that my whole life, just coming from where I’m coming from. Just because you hear Compton, you hear Watts, you hear cities like that, you just think ‘thug, he’s a gangster, he’s this, that, and the other,’ and then you hear Stanford, and they’re like, ‘oh man, that doesn’t even make sense, that’s an oxymoron.’You fight it for so long, and to have it come back up and people start to use it again, it’s frustrating.”