The Shady Side Of Russell Wilson

NFL star Russell Wilson may be known as a nice guy, but he's also dealt his fair share of shade.

Since 2012, the acclaimed quarterback has made waves within the football world for his showstopping sportsmanship. From leading the Seattle Seahawks to two Super Bowls to holding the record for the most wins by an NFL quarterback, Wilson has earned his NFL legend title. In addition to delivering great plays on the field, the Ohio-born athlete has been lauded for his nice guy persona, even winning an award titled "Good Guy of the Year" in 2014. "Thank you guys so much! It's truly an honor to win this award. There are so many great athletes and players; just to win something like this is truly an honor," Wilson said during a Seattle Seahawks press conference. While he's earned a reputation for being friendly, the Denver Broncos quarterback has also been found guilty of dishing out some shady behavior.

At the end of December 2023, NFL fans were shocked when the Denver Broncos benched Russell Wilson for his last two games of the 2023-2024 season. Shortly after the news made headlines, the Super Bowl champion expressed his disappointment over the decision made by head coach Sean Payton. "I felt like we were doing something special and rolling," he told reporters in a post-game interview. "I'm going to keep putting my best foot forward every day and be as professional as I can be, no matter what the circumstances are." He also confirmed that his benching was due to contract disputes regarding his injury guarantee. "I wasn't going to take away injury guarantees. This game is such a physical game. I've played for 12 years, and that matters to me," he added.

In the days following his benching, Wilson took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to like tweets from users who slammed the Broncos management for their decision. One post that Wilson supported was from former Ravens player Robert Lee Griffin III. "Mad respect for how you have handled this entire situation," he wrote. "When you were disrespected, you still showed respect. When you were threatened, you led your team to wins." Another X post that Wilson liked pointed out his impressive performance from the season, with the user writing: "Russell Wilson is now getting benched despite outplaying some of the league's biggest stars."

Since 2015, Russell Wilson and Ciara have been praised by fans for their relationship, with many lauding the former for embracing the latter's first child, Future Zahir, as his own. However, not everyone has been a big fan of their adorable family dynamic. In July 2023, the singer's ex and father of her first child, Future, dissed Wilson in his track "Turn Yo Clic Up." He rapped, "I got it out the field / F**k Russell," per Genius. Instead of making a direct response, the Super Bowl winner took a more subtle and shadier approach. A few days after the track's release, the Ohio-born athlete took to Instagram to upload a photo of him alongside Future Zahir attending a Denver Broncos practice. "Best part of the day #Dadlife," his caption read. He also shared videos from the visit to his Instagram story, which included showing Future Zahir how to throw a football and other fatherly things.

Wilson's Instagram post isn't the first time he shaded Future over his petty disses. In a January 2019 interview with Beats 1 radio, the "Telekinesis" rapper called out the former Seahawks player for not censoring Ciara's social media posts about him. "He not being a man in that position," he explained, per People. "If that was me, he couldn't bring his name up." Days later, Wilson posted a photo to X of Future Zahir and daughter Sienna with the caption, "All that matters. #Love."

In March 2022, Seattle Seahawks fans were devastated when Russell Wilson was traded to the Denver Broncos. The decision was reached after the relationship between the quarterback and the popular NFL team spoiled. Before his departure, Wilson helped lead the Seahawks to two consecutive Super Bowls. While Wilson moved on to the Broncos, he still made headlines concerning the Seattle-based team, specifically regarding head coach Pete Carroll. In November 2022, the popular sports figure praised his new Seahawks quarterback, Geno Smith, for wearing wristbands during his game, which was reportedly a point of contention for Wilson. "If you notice, Geno's going off the wristband, and that's a big help," Carroll explained on his Seattle Sports radio show. "It smoothed things out, sped things up, cleaned things up."

It didn't take long for Wilson to respond to Carroll, resulting in him shadily flexing his achievements while on the Seahawks to defend his wristband decision. "I don't know exactly what he said, but I won a lot of games there without one on the wrist," he told reporters, per Bleacher Report. "Didn't know winning or losing mattered whether you wore a wristband or not." While Wilson sent some shade to the longstanding coach in 2022, he still holds a tremendous amount of respect for him. In February 2023, the decorated quarterback tweeted that Carroll was like a father to him while disputing feud claims.

Before becoming an NFL sweetheart, Russell Wilson wasn't always so kind and humble. In his 2014 essay for The Players Tribune, which was written to combat domestic violence, the Denver Broncos quarterback admitted to being a bully during his childhood. "I used to beat people up. Truthfully, I used to beat people up a lot," he told the outlet. "Many of you readers probably think I have been Mr Goody Two-Shoes my whole life, but honestly, I was a bully growing up." He went on to say that his bullying consisted of shoving other kids into walls and throwing dirt on them. "I had a lot of anger that I didn't know what to do with," he added.

His story with The Players Tribune isn't the first time Wilson opened up about his troubled past. In a 2019 interview with Men's Journal, the former Seattle Seahawks player revealed that he was a bad kid and only went to church to see cute girls. However, in sixth grade, his attitude changed after he had a dream about his father dying. "That Sunday, I went to church, and I just start bawling all of sudden. And that's when my life kind of changed."

During his inaugural season with the Denver Broncos, the praise Russell Wilson received from fans swiftly changed to criticism due to his less-than-stellar performance. Ahead of the 2023-2024 season, the talented quarterback acknowledged the pushback and revealed that he's kept receipts, hoping to prove the critics wrong. "I think you got them in your back pocket sometimes," he told reporters, per Sports Illustrated. "Listen, I'm used to some of those who believe and some of those who doubt. I think that when you're playing high stakes, and you dream to be the best that you can possibly be every day there's always going to be people that question whether you can do it or not."

Unfortunately for Wilson, the Super Bowl champ endured more hate during his second season with the Broncos, which prompted him to share another message to his critics via his Instagram story. "A hater is somebody that ain't even in the game. A hater is somebody that don't do what you do but still wake up every day and speaks about how you do what you do," he wrote.