Russell Wilson climbs soapbox, enters political fray

Russell Wilson, known robot, took a detour on Tuesday from his usual greatest hits, such as “championship opportunity” and “the separation is in the preparation,” to address the political upheaval brought on by a new presidential administration.

Wilson used the Facebook Live platform to discuss... platforms he usually avoids.

Here’s the footage.

And Part 2:

Thanks, Sam, for capturing those. Now, for your convenience and for the chance to highlight certain lines individually, a transcription.

Video 1:

“This whole Donald Trump-Hillary Clinton thing that’s going on with Donald Trump becoming our president...

“Despite anybody’s political issues or views — everybody has a right to choose who they vote for — but things are getting out of hand. It’s gettin’ out of hand, people, I don’t care who you voted for.

“Just so you know, I voted for Hillary, um, but, when you think about it, it’s only been, what two weeks, right? Two weeks or even less —

[crosstalk]

“We gotta attack this issue here. So basically, I think that, uh, when you think about all the negativity that’s happened within a ten-day period or 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 it’s putting people [trails off] ... you go to the LAX airport and there’s people all over the place, fighting for their lives, protesting and all that. And all the protests that’ve gone on, all the protests that’ve gone on through the African-American community, through the, um, obviously the Muslim community too — we’re gonna be a nation that says we’re equal, we have to be equal.

“Obviously being smart and you know, all that kind of stuff. But you also got to treat people fairly, and you have to be able to love everyone, and, I know even from my own faith, my Christian faith, we still have to love everybody. We still have to, no matter what their — well no matter what our issues are — we still have to find ways to love people and care for people. And so I think that’s the thing that’s been crazy already.

“I don’t know if he’s gonna be able to last four years in my opinion. You don’t want to wish bad on anybody, because if he doesn’t last four years, that means something went wrong. So, um, hopefully nothing goes wrong, any more than it’s already doing.

“But it’s just been a crazy ten days already. And, uh — Barack! Come back! Come back, Barack, come back!”

[end]

Video 2:

“Despite a lot of people’s political issues or views or whatever, people really realize how much President Obama was able to deal with situations [trails off] ...

“Now you can’t run a nation and everything and be perfect, but I think people have a greater appreciation of his class, his class, the class that he was able to deliver to most people, and be able to care for people. And same thing with, uh, First Lady Michelle Obama, both those two, so now you kinda recognize that.

“People’s feelings are getting hurt, people’s lives are getting changed, people are getting sent back or not let in back home to see their families, for reasons that may not be worthy. Just because you believe in something or you’re from a certain place doesn’t mean that you’re a bad person, so.

“And also, too, I saw something the other day, where a four-year-old got handcuffed. And that’s ridiculous, the audacity that people would have to be able to do that, in my opinion, be handcuffed, in America, saw that, so. It’s just sad, you know, sad — I believe it was in America, I’m not 100 percent sure. But based on, you know, social [chuckles].

“But anyways, just to think about the audacity that people have.”

[end]

Of note, Wilson stumbles awkwardly over certain sentences. It’s not a press conference; it’s a casual conversation, that just happens to now have thousands of eavesdropping fans. (In transcribing, I removed about half the “ums” and “uhs” and “you knows.” Not to make him sound smarter, but for ease of reading. Just double the amount of verbal crutches you see, if you’d like.) So Russell won’t likely be accused this time of sounding scripted, or guarded. Whether or not that’s a good thing depends on how outspoken you like your local superstars.

Russell Wilson is a face of the NFL. One of THE faces. His success is undeniable (10 wins or more every year, a playoff win or more every year); his popularity is nearly unmatched (if you’re using jersey sales as a barometer).

And now we know what he thinks.

Editor’s Pretty Long Note

Our “no politics” waiver is in effect. Please understand, reader, that politics (and maybe religion) are allowed in the comments section below.

Field Gulls rules pertaining to personal attacks still apply. Don’t call people racists or snowflakes. Don’t make this any more about Christianity and Islam than it has to be. Don’t monopolize the discussion. Don’t take it much farther than what RW mentions explicity. Most importantly, don’t be an asshole.

But if you wanted a chance to express yourself on the issues Wilson raises, now’s the chance, probably the only one you’ll get. Only you’ll want to color your indignation, frustration, disapproval, approval, support, and/or reverence with things like respect, politeness, restraint, facts, research, links, intelligence and nuance. We’re doing this discussion the right way, not the wrong way.

Go Hawks.