We should have probably seen this coming when Russell Wilson decreed that his water product could prevent concussions, but now we know the truth.
The Seahawks quarterback is clearly qualified to reign over his particular province of the NFL because he’s descended from royalty.
According to Randy Hallman of the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Wilson found out about his heritage during a visit to a forum in his Virginia hometown. He appeared with historian Henry Louis Gates Jr. from the PBS show “Finding Your Roots,” who told him of his link to at least one English king (frankly, we can’t remember from high school which one was between Peyton the First and the return of Thomas of San Mateo).
“I knew it,” Wilson said with a fist pump, and we’re assuming with tongue in cheek — though sometimes when Wilson starts talking you can never be sure.
Gates also told Wilson some stories about his heritage which included a slave woman who once sued to have her family freed, which put the Seahawks quarterback into a contemplative mood.
“Some of our ancestors may have grown up as slaves,” Wilson said. “Some may have been slave owners. . . . We forget we’re all human. What it all goes back to is really loving people. . . .
“Sometimes, you have to forget what a person looks like, forget what a person believes in, forget what a person does have or does not have. ... You have to look deep inside and love.”
He then laughed and added “because you’re probably connected.”
This fills us with curiosity as much as anything else, and Wilson’s English roots make us wonder if former teammate Marshawn Lynch is somehow connected as well, if only for the Peter O’Toole visual of the retired running back on a camel.