A Baltimore Ravens fan, now identified as Wardell Roberts, set the internet on fire with his uncanny resemblance to the late civil rights icon Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
During the fourth quarter of the Ravens’ divisional playoff matchup against the Houston Texans on Saturday night, television cameras caught Roberts, who was wearing a Ravens starter jacket and hat to match, sitting in the stands and staring off into the distance, according to the Baltimore Ravens.
Unexpectedly for Roberts, the incident gained popularity after that. He received numerous texts from friends and family informing him that he had been broadcast on television. At first, he expected the focus would have been on a shirtless fan who had been rowdy the entire game in Section 101, behind him in row 2.
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He told The Baltimore Banner, “I figured the camera would find him. Thought I might go home, run it back on the DVR, see us on the screen and that’s it.”
Roberts didn’t realize he was trending on Twitter because he doesn’t have an account. He spent the rest of the game enjoying his win with his wife Karla and his 8-year-old son Karson, and he didn’t give his phone much thought until they all joined the crowd of supporters leaving the stadium.
The Frederick resident said that once he became aware, “It didn’t stop. Everybody started sending it. They’re all saying, ‘You’re trending right now.’ It was everywhere. Even Dr. King’s daughter [Bernice King] saw it and got a chuckle out of it.”
The late activist’s daughter, Bernice King, who also saw the post, commented “Hmm” with a laughing emoji.
The 60-year-old also posted a picture of her late father with the caption “I have a great sense of humor, ya’ll. This post is funny. Some posts about/uses of my father’s image are not. This man resembles Daddy, tho.”
Roberts, a security guard and flag football coach who graduated from Salisbury, revealed that while in college, a few friends had made the observation that he looked like King, but he had never given it any thought.
The comparison, however, delighted his son the most because he had recently studied King’s legacy at school before the national holiday was observed in his honor.
