D’Angelo Russell’s Real Crime by David J. Leonard

D’Angelo Russell’s Real Crimeby David J. Leonard | @DrDavidJLeonard | NewBlackMan (in Exile)
America’s great fascination has always been Black sexuality.The spectacle of inter-communal Black conflict. It is no wonder that  D’Angelo Russell’s secret video of Nick “Swaggy P” Young confessing his sexual adventures has captivated America. Trending on twitter, dominating the ‘thought piece-o-sphere,’ and leading both sports shows and celebrity driven news world programs, this “scandal” tells us a lot about America’s desire for race, sex, and social media.
Let’s get this straight: D’Angelo Russell tapes Nick Young talking about his infidelity and Russell is the one worthy of outrage (and no, I am not calling for a national moral finger wagging directed at Young either).  “The world is treating this kid like he beat up a child,” notes Kiese Laymon, author of the novel Long Division, adding that he simply “exposed his engaged friend's infidelity.”
The scant discussion of Nick Young's purported infidelity reveals the spectacle of black male sexuality.  This is nothing new for the NBA whether  Wilt Chamberlain’s claim of having slept with 20,000 women to a Sports Illustrated feature on “absentee Black fathers;” sports culture has always been a space for articulating fear and fetishization of black sexuality, where the commodification, policing, and surveilling of black male bodies are central to that project.
The outrage at Russell who has been called an “idiot,” who has been ridiculed across many mediums, speaks to the ways that we define masculinity.  Whereas Young fulfills dominant expectations of men, who are lauded and celebrated for their “conquests,” who are ‘slut praised,’ Russell transgresses these expectations.  
More than violating the "bro code” Russell pulled the curtain back on the hypocrisy of America’s sexual politics.  The reactions to Russell speak to the many ways this is just another moment where analysis and critical discussion are as illusive as accountability for Peyton Manning. As Dave Zirin notes, such discourse is “codified, well-compensated misogyny.”
It is no wonder that the outrage is directed at Russell as exemplified by  NFL players who have taken to twitter to say he wouldn’t be welcome in their locker room (but are fine with Johnny Football, Greg Hardy and countless others). It is no wonder that there seems to more outrage directed at Russell than any number of NFL player’s accused of domestic violence, sexual harassment, and sexual violence.  It is no wonder that people are ready to banish him from the NBA and society as a whole.  In America that is what happens to black bodies that are deemed unproductive.
In Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption, Bryan Stevenson writes, “Each of us is more than the worst thing we’ve ever done.”  Tell that to D’Angelo Russell.  ‘His career is over’; ‘he will never be trusted again’; ‘unless he becomes a superstar, no team or teammate will want anything to do with him.’ This is the message over and over again.
Beyond reflecting that black male bodies are treated as little more than commodities – ‘You did a terrible thing and unless you average 25 and 10, you will never forgiven – the lack of forgiveness and empathy speaks to the irredeemability of black bodies that is at the core of anti-black racism.
In a media culture that routinely pathologizes hip-hop culture, and black Americans in general, for purported acceptance of  a “stop snitching” ethos (even as the “Blue Wall” is held up as an idealized signifier of brotherhood), the anger directed at Russell is striking given the ubiquitous references to his ultimate sin: snitching.  
This is ironically from a media culture that also routinely profits off sex tapes and paparazzi pictures of unknowing female celebrities at the beach, at the swimming pool, or in other spaces. It is telling that the violation of Nick Young’s privacy is what sparks anger and outrage about boundaries and privacy.   
In a society that sanctions surveillance and increasing state power in the social media age, it is striking that D’Angelo Russell has become exhibit “A” in the fight to protection of our personal lives.  
Rather than turn this into yet another spectacle and  another moment to lament black male values (or the so-called lack of them, how about we have a conversation about our values.  How about a conversation about justice codes and equality codes rather than “bro codes.” “We would be a better nation if the outrage here went two ways, not one,” as Laymon suggests.  A better nation indeed.
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David J. Leonard is Professor in the Department of Critical Culture, Gender and Race Studies at Washington State University, Pullman. Leonard's latest books include After Artest: The NBA and the Assault on Blackness (SUNY Press), African Americans on Television: Race-ing for Ratings (Praeger Press) co-edited with Lisa Guerrero and Beyond Hate: White Power and Popular Culture with C. Richard King. He is currently working on a book Presumed Innocence: White Mass Shooters in the Era of Trayvon about gun violence in America. You can follow him on Twitter at @drdavidjleonard.