Do some Seahawks really think Russell Wilson isn’t ‘black enough?’

A report that some Seahawks players think Russell Wilson isn’t “black enough” is stirring strong reactions in Seattle and across the country.

“It’s total nonsense,” says former Seahawks standout Marcus Trufant, co-host of The Barbershop on 710 ESPN Seattle.

Mike Freeman of Bleacher Report brought up the alleged race issue in a piece examining the Seahawks problems in the wake of the Percy Harvin trade.

Freeman cited unnamed players who allegedly have issues with Wilson, a divide that prompted the Seahawks to jettison Harvin.

The main issue some players seem to have with Wilson is they think he’s too close to the front office, which is the same ridiculous thing some said about McNabb. How anyone could have a problem with Wilson—one of the best players in the sport and one of its best citizens—is unfathomable to me, but that’s the case.

There is also a strictly football issue here with Wilson. I’m told he doesn’t always take the blame with teammates for mistakes he makes. In Wilson’s mind, a bad throw isn’t always his fault.

There is also an element of race that needs to be discussed. My feeling on this—and it’s backed up by several interviews with Seahawks players—is that some of the black players think Wilson isn’t black enough.

Trufant says there are always going to be divides in a locker room with 53 guys, but what matters most to all of them is winning. He says he’s heard nothing to indicate a real problem.

“It’s not about being black enough in the locker room,” Trufant says. “At the end of the day, if he’s doing his job on the field, if they’re winning, everyone’s happy.”

Still, he acknowledges there has always been a racial divide among blacks, so some tension is inevitable.

“I don’t know if it’s always going to be there, but it’s been there since the days of slavery. You had the light and the dark and the field and the house, so it goes much deeper than the locker room.”

The Seahawks posted several quotes from Wilson on Twitter Thursday:

Wilson: “Percy (Harvin) and I never had differences. We had more similarities if anything. Two guys who just want to compete.”

— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) October 23, 2014

Wilson: #IgnoreTheNoise

— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) October 23, 2014

It’s hard to know if there’s any truth to the story, although Freeman is a respected writer. Still, those who’ve covered the team regularly over the last few years, like 710 ESPN Seattle’s Danny O’Neil, say many of the stories of discord emerging in the aftermath of the Harvin trade are surprising.

“I’ve covered this team for two and a half years and I’ve never heard anyone say anything even halfway indicating that they’re not anything but excited to have Russell Wilson as their quarterback,” O’Neil says.

Wide receiver Doug Baldwin tried to diffuse some of the talk of dissension in the locker room when he spoke with the media Wednesday. However, he wasn’t asked specifically about Freeman’s story.

“When you lose, everything is magnified. When you win, everything’s covering up, so that’s just the nature of the business,” Baldwin says.

O’Neil calls it all a made-up conspiracy.

“I can’t imagine there’s one guy who doesn’t love having Russell Wilson as their quarterback,” says O’Neil. “The worst thing you can say about him is he’s kind of boring and robotic and perhaps a kind of goody two-shoes.”

Trufant says the story and all the others dissecting the Seahawks’ problems are understandable, given the team’s Super Bowl win and popularity. While frustrating, he says most players are able to ignore most of the noise.

“That’s just like having a child or a baby. You know they’re going to cry. It may bother you, it may get on your nerves, but the baby’s going to cry, so you just have to deal with it,” Trufant says.