If you watched the NFC Championship game between the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers last Sunday, you were in for quite a treat. Not only was the game one of the season’s best, but Seahawks star cornerback Richard Sherman gave a postgame interview for the ages.
As the 49ers were driving down the field in the final minutes of Sunday’s NFC Championship, in position to score the go-ahead touchdown, 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick went for it all, throwing a deep ball to wide receiver Michael Crabtree in the end zone on a first and 10 on Seattle’s 18 yard-line. Crabtree got behind Seattle’s Sherman, which ended up working in the Seattle cornerback’s favor. Sherman, who was out of position, jumped into the air desperately and tipped the ball forward into linebacker Malcom Smith’s hands, preventing the San Francisco comeback.
Sherman in celebration went on to tap Crabtree on the rear-end and motioned a choking signal to the San Francisco sideline. But it doesn’t stop there. Sherman continued his questionable decisions into his postgame interview with Fox sideline reporter Erin Andrews. Here’s how the interview went…
Andrews: “The final play, take me through it.”
Sherman: “Well, I’m the best corner in the game! When you try me with a sorry receiver like Crabtree, that’s the result you gonna get! Don’t you ever talk about me!”
Andrews: “Who was talking about you?”
Sherman: “Crabtree! Don’t you open your mouth about the best, or I’m gonna shut it for you real quick! LOB!”
If that doesn’t paint the picture, here’s a link to the interview (https://youtu.be/SFYuwWCqmeU.) The thirty second interview, less than minutes after the final whistle, might have been the worst snap decision by a player in NFL history. Chances are good people who had never heard of Richard Sherman prior to last Sunday now think of him in a misconstrued light, and perhaps even a thug. Yes, a thug.
The word “thug” has been associated with Sherman for some time now. Sherman is a payer who likes the attention, he likes to talk. The way Sherman goes about himself turns people off at times. Not to mention, it doesn’t help that during last weekend’s game Beats By Dre aired their new commercial featuring Seattle’s Sherman.
In the commercial a ‘reporter’ asks Sherman “What do you think about your reputation as a thug?” Sherman shakes his head and responds, “I don’t have that reputation.” It’s quite interesting that the commercial was aired just hours prior to the Richard Sherman’s rant. However, to call Sherman a thug is wrong.
This man made it to Stanford University out of Compton as the salutatorian in his high school graduating class. Sherman graduated with a degree in communications from Stanford, and by the time he entered the NFL Draft in 2011, he had already begun working on his Master’s degree at the prestigious Pac-12 school. Does Sherman play with an aggressive edge? Yes. Does Richard Sherman play confidently, maybe ever over-confidently at times? Yes. But Richard Sherman is not a thug, if anything he is a role model to children growing up in Compton or in other poverty-stricken areas.
“Regardless of how bizarre sometimes my story gets, especially in times like this, it’s still remarkable how (my) story can resonate for any kid coming from humble beginnings,” Sherman said in an interview with CNN. “Whatever beginnings you come from, just understand that you’re circumstances don’t dictate your future… You are limitless.”
