It's not just Sterling. But he gets it more than anyone.
Why did they coerce a story about having multiple kids with different mothers?
Why do they bring up his wealth in every story?
Why do they dig into his family's background? He bought his mother a house after being brought up in a council flat in a very poor area of London. This was 'flaunting cash'. Then when he gives up his time to take photos with fans by a local shop he's cheap.
The press have sold this kid as a bad troublemaker. He may have done one or two things he regrets - like we all do at that age but this kid as a teenager has been the center of their attention.
Footballers on the whole get judged by their lifestyle and some like Beckham love the attention and court celebrity.
But black footballers like Sterling, Sturridge, Pogba, Zaha and others seem to particularly be judged on their clothing, their hair and that they listen to rap. They get labelled 'arrogant' 'lazy' 'flashy' and subconsciously this gets trickled down into judging their performances. This is my opinion of course.