You know what they say, patience is a virtue, and sometimes, true patience is rewarded. As we all witnessed last week, a very calm, cool, and collected Patriot’s fan by the name of Jerry Edmond was able to maintain his composure as a white woman harassed him for existing during last Saturday’s game against the Raiders. The Pats were already taking a beating, and game day Karen (a Raiders fan) began taunting him further by encroaching upon his personal space, and pointing her finger in his face.
According to Fox News, Edmond was first approached by the woman’s husband after making a supportive comment towards one of the Pat’s players on the field.
“When the Patriots scored, I yelled ‘Yep Raiders fans, I think it’s time to go home.’ And he comes over, and he’s like, ‘Oh, so you’re talking to me?’” Edmond told reporters.
“I just kind of like looked at it like, ‘You know what, I don’t want to get in trouble. I don’t want anything to happen here.’ In the video you hear me saying like, ‘I don’t want any trouble,’” Edmond said.
As the video started to go viral online, many commended the fan’s demeanor throughout the altercation. He never raised his voice, changed his stance, or became confrontational in any way.
“If the skin colors were switched…that outcome and response from law enforcement would have been ‘different’” one online commenter observed.
“The fact that we have to celebrate a Black Man for NOT exhibiting self defense is crazy,” another comment read.
Others called for the man to be found and honored by the Patriots owner himself, and let’s just say, some Christmas wishes come true.
“Someone find me this man,” one tweet read. “I owe him a beer. Entire game this lady was chirping at him for CHEERING for the Patriots in “her” stadium. Absolute shit ending for NE & she’s up in his face. He stayed calm after seeing the worst loss ever. I know I wouldn’t. He deserves some love.”
This past week, Robert Kraft reached out to Jerry Edmond to offer him the NFL experience of a lifetime. The Pats owner invited Edmond to the Week 16 game against the Cincinnati Bengals. He was also gifted a custom jersey, and enjoyed the game in the comfort of the owner’s suite.
In the end, Kraft thanked Edmond for keeping his cool, and for “representing our brand in a very classy way” in “an environment that could’ve been very provoking”
And as the old African American proverb goes, good for him ‘cause it “couldn’t been me.”