Do you remember Chad Wheeler? It seems that the sports and mainstream media do not want you to as they have had very little to say about him. Allow me to refresh your memory: Chad Wheeler is a former reserve lineman for the Seattle Seahawks who nearly beat his girlfriend to death in late January. You probably did not hear about it but Wheeler was charged with first-degree domestic violence assault, a felony; domestic violence unlawful imprisonment, a felony; and resisting arrest, a misdemeanor. You also may not have heard about it but he was arraigned on February 9.
Police body camera footage has been released of Wheeler fighting with cops as they attempt to corral him ( that’s called resisting arrest if you are scoring at home and that was the excuse the murderer of Michael Brown, Darren Wilson, used to justify that legalised lynching). Oddly, the 6:15 worth of footage goes from audio and visual to strictly audio just 32 seconds in. This curious editing of the footage by authorities was done due to “various legal reasons”, which is strange because the Ray Rice video was not edited, nor were the videos of De’Andre Johnson or Joe Mixon defending themselves. Once again not scarcely a word about this from the sports and mainstream media.
Michelle Beadle, you had so much to say during the Ray Rice incident, including smoke for your then-colleague Stephen A. Smith for merely suggesting that people’s conduct can be a contributing factor in situations like that. Yet you have been conspicuously mute when it comes to Chad Wheeler. Molly Qerim, you have a history of interrupting interesting conversations with your vapid takes, if there was a time to chime in on an issue, this would be it. Kristine Leahy had so much to say about Lavar Ball, calling him a child abuser but had been mute when it comes to calling out an actual abuser. These are but just a few glaring examples of sports media personalities, but it permeates the sports media as a whole, deteriorating from true reporting and journalism to merely creating and/or pushing specific narratives.
In the era of Me As Well, this case and Wheeler would be the poster child for the reason their “movement” exists but they have been oddly mute on this incident. Tawana Burke where are you? We cannot hear over the sound of your deafening silence. She is not mute, she did find the time to go on CBS This Morning, along with Jurnee Smollett to do a babbling, nonsensical segment with Gayle King ( the same Gayle King who was all too ready to take shots posthumously at Kobe Bryant, shortly after his death) that attempted to cast black men as sexual abusers and monsters. Burke’s/ I Also’s silence over the Wheeler incident should come as no surprise, as her “movement” is not about protecting black women, as it is about shielding Caucasian men. This is the same Tarana Burke that when asked why are all of the targets of her “movement” black men, she responded with “why is it my job to go after white men?”
Gloria Allred has been as quiet as a church mouse this far. This glorified ambulance chaser who allegedly has a passion for women’s rights has had nothing to say about a case that would seemingly be tailor-made for her. However, since there is no black male boogeyman, she cannot be bothered to lift a finger.
So as it appears that Chad Wheeler will not be subjected to the apology tour that Ray Rice and others have had, the sports and mainstream media would rather look the other way and pretend this never happened. However what history reveals is that if the races of the principals in the Wheeler incident were reversed, this piece would not have to be penned, it would be inescapably shouted from every news outlet in the country.
