Arthur Chu Haters: Are They Racists or Do They Just Hate Cocky Players

Here’s a tweet I came across from Arthur Chu tonight where he explains why he looks to his left when another player buzzes in before him:

One quick response to the haters: The reason I look to the left when someone else buzzes in is not that I’m mad at them. It’s that I want to be ready to catch the rebound if they miss the question and I get a chance to give the right answer.

It was really two tweets, but whatever. The look on his face was actually mentioned in the comments on yesterday’s game, and one of the comments was by me (vj). I was a bit startled that he would address that “to the haters.” What? You can’t make an observation without being a hater these days? Well, at least we know why he looks to the left. Can we say he’s tense, waiting to pounce, without being a hater?

Arthur Chu really seems have just as big a support group as he does people who “hate on” him and want him gone, and I’m sure he knows it, so it was even more surprising to see an exchange of tweets between Arthur and Beth Morgan about her article online entitled “Everyone’s Talking about Arthur Chu, But Why?.” She analyzes how Arthur Chu became such a media sensation and lightning rod for controversy in “the anatomy of a viral sensation.” Arthur sent her a tweet saying he liked her article and it was well researched but her “thesis that there was no real hatestorm is wrong.”

A couple of tweets later he says: “I don’t wanna be that guy who says it’s a race thing… but c’mon, it’s a race thing.” Somewhere in there, he compares it to all the negativity directed toward Colby Burnett, an African American, winner of two tournaments (Teachers and Champions): “It’s kind of like how everyone thought Colby’s smiling meant “Colby thinks he’s God’s gift to women.”

Now, Arthur, please take a step back with that. You’ve had a fair share of cocky comments. Go look at some of Colby’s youtubes. It was not because of his smile and it was not because he was African-American that many people took a dislike to him. It was because he came off as cocky. Many people who actually knew Colby went online to explain that he was really a very humble guy and that’s just his way. Still, it did seem that Colby toned it down a lot in the Tournament of Champions. Roger Craig is another guy who was disliked by some as cocky and arrogant.

People like winners but they don’t like people to win that they perceive as cocky and arrogant. And it’s not just on Jeopardy! It has worked against American Idol contestants. How someone crosses the line from confident over to cocky is, of course, relative to the experience of the person making that judgment, which doesn’t mean it’s right. Conversely, I remember some folks wanting Jason Keller to be gone because they hated the “I can’t believe it” faces he made when his winnings were announced. On American Idol, Simon Cowell gave one contestant, Melinda Doolittle (Season 6), a hard time about her humility. Go figure.

Here’s something no amount of negative comments can change: Arthur’s 7th win today put him in the Top 10 of big money winners in Jeopardy’s Hall of Fame.

Ken Jennings – $2,520,700 (74x)
Dave Madden – $430,400 (18x)
Tom Nissley – $235,405 (8x)
Roger Craig – $230,200 (6x)
Larissa Kelly – $222,597 (6x)
Jason Keller – $213,900 (9x)
Joon Pahk – $199,000 (8x)
Tom Walsh – $184,900 (8x)
Jared Hall $181,001 (6x)
Arthur Chu $180,000 (7x)