Richard Sherman, Mohammed Ali, and the Code

Richard Sherman’s trash-talking rant after the Seahawks game brings this form of communication back into the news.  Trash talking is not new.  The man who called himself “The Greatest” before others did (Ali), also made an art-form of trash-talking fifty years ago.  He did it in long humorous poems that he recited before his matches, and he did it in rants and sound bites  (“Sonny Liston is too ugly to be the Champion.  Look at me, I’m beautiful.”).   What’s the difference between friendly banter and inappropriate trash talking?  The Code says “I will respect the dignity of every human being…”  A simple test is whether a person is trying to make him or herself better by putting someone else down.  It is never appropriate to exalt ourselves by putting others down.  A wonderful example was set by Serena Williams in her loss in the Australian Open.   Her trainer immediately said she was suffering from a bad back.  Serena, however, said she was disappointed that she had not played better, but that it was not her back – “give her credit,” she said of her opponent, “she played well.”  Perhaps, someday, Richard Sherman will have learned that rather than say, “a mediocre receiver will always get beat by a great corner back,” people would have greater admiration for him if he had said, “Crabtree is a great receiver; I’m just glad that I was able to make the play that won the game.”  In his senior years, even Ali has mellowed and matured.