there is a definite population of ignorant white people - go have a look at the "lamar odom is a thug" thread buried deep in the NBA section for an example - who call pretty much any black guy making noise a thug. 50 years ago, these guys would have called them the N word, but nowadays this is much less socially acceptable. "thug" gets used as a substitute, because i mean after all, thug just refers to a criminal, a low life, right? strangely though, it never gets used to describe a white guy.
if Carson Palmer was black, they'd all be calling him an ungrateful thug for retiring rather than play in Cinci. Peyton Manning? greedy thug for how he holds Irsay hostage and insists on being the highest paid player ever, killing his teams ability to surround him with talent. Tebow? Talentless thug who can't even outplay Brady Quinn.