I already know that a lot of people are going to disagree with this statement but here it goes anyways; Richard Sherman should be praised for his display Sunday night, not berated.
As everyone in the country knows, Sherman went on a rant in his postgame interview with Erin Andrews after Sunday's NFC Championship win against the 49ers. His comments shell shocked a whole host of people. Individuals whom could not tell you what city the Seahawks are from, had an opinion on Sherman's remarks.
A majority of America hated what Sherman said, and labeled him as arrogant, a thug, and countless other things that I cannot type because my mother will probably read this (I have to beg her to. She doesn't like sports.).
One word that came up a lot, that I can use in this post, is classless. This seems to be the popular word that most anti-Sherman people are using to describe him. I do agree on this point. Sherman is classless for putting his hands to his neck, aka the choking sign, as he ran by Colin Kaepernick. His postgame comments on the other hand were not classless; they were a refreshing change from the norm that we see in sports.
How many times have you watched a postgame press conference and became aggravated with the monotone BS that the player is saying? His comments were just a construction of overused cliques that make a lecture about accounting seem exciting.
Lost are the days when athletes said whatever the heck was on their mind, and did not get racist filled remarks directed at them afterwards.
Sherman has no filter to begin with. His comments, as cocky as they might be, was what he was thinking in the heat of the moment. Did he swear at all during the interview? No. Did he scream at the top of his lungs? Yes. He was pumped because he is going to the frickin Super Bowl for crying out loud.
What was he suppose to say? "Yea Erin I am very excited to be in the Super Bowl. I am going to IHOP after this with the family to celebrate. By the way to you are a true professional and sideline reporters have a real purpose in sports." Instead, the man wanted the world to know what he thinks of 49ers receiver Michael Crabtree, and of himself.
According to several reports that have come out since Sunday night, part of the reasoning behind Sherman's remarks towards Crabtree were a result of what occurred from a prior meeting. Last summer, Crabtree allegedly attempted to start a fight with Sherman at a charity event. If this is true, it should wipe away the labeling of Crabtree as the victim.
The real issue that this incident on Sunday brings up, has nothing to do with Sherman. What is does concern is the hypocrisy of most sports fans in this country.
Fans expect football players to have a WWE mindset when they are on the field. We enjoy guys that throw their bodies around with reckless abandonment. But right after the game, we expect them to be mellow and respectful. When the clock hits zero, they have to turn off their adrenaline right away, and hide their real feelings.
If a player wants to say that he just embarrassed the living crap out of his opponent, he cannot. If he wants to speak about how pissed off he is that his team lost the game, or in Sherman's case how happy he is that they just won, he cannot.
This is just me, but I think our country has been brainwashed. We are so accustomed to the boring interview where an athlete has no emotion. It is like they are reading off of some script made up of only politically correct statements.
These guys are entertainers. They are paid a lucrative contract to entertain us fans. A guy who straight up says his opinion is more entertaining that a guy that sounds like a robot.
Sherman's comments were a problem because he put himself before his team. Even my days of C level football in high school taught me that a team comes before an individual. If you want to rag on Sherman do it because of that.
However, the man should not be criticized for speaking his mind. This is America isn't it? We are all free to say what we want. I for one want to thank Sherman for being the athlete that finally used this right, in order to say what was truly on his mind.
I know, I know. You disagree with Nick and want him to know it. Leave a comment below the link.
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Nick hosts The Sports ReKap (@SaidOnTheReKap) with his co-host DJ Vogt (@dvj14) on MarquetteWire.org.
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