Erin Andrews interviewed me after the game and I yelled what was obvious: If you put a subpar player across from a great one, most of the time you’re going to get one result. As far as Crabtree being a top-20 NFL receiver, you’d have a hard time making that argument to me. There are a lot of receivers playing good ball out there, and Josh Gordon needed 14 games to produce almost double what Crabtree can do in a full season. And Gordon had Brandon Weeden, Brian Hoyer and Jason Campbell playing quarterback.
But that’s not why I don’t like the man. It goes back to something he said to me this offseason in Arizona, but you’d have to ask him about that. A lot of what I said to Andrews was adrenaline talking, and some of that was Crabtree. I just don’t like him.
It was loud, it was in the moment, and it was just a small part of the person I am. I don’t want to be a villain, because I’m not a villainous person. When I say I’m the best cornerback in football, it’s with a caveat: There isn’t a great defensive backfield in the NFL that doesn’t have a great front seven. Everything begins with pressure up front, and that’s what we get from our pass rushers every Sunday. To those who would call me a thug or worse because I show passion on a football field—don’t judge a person’s character by what they do between the lines. Judge a man by what he does off the field, what he does for his community, what he does for his family.
But people find it easy to take shots on Twitter, and to use racial slurs and bullying language far worse than what you’ll see from me. It’s sad and somewhat unbelievable to me that the world is still this way, but it is. I can handle it.
One thing I can’t accept is what I read after the game about Seahawks fans throwing food at 49ers linebacker Navorro Bowman as he was being carted off the field with his knee injury. If it’s true, it’s beyond terrible. That’s as low as it gets. I’m sure whoever did this is in a small minority of fans, because I don’t think that kind of action is an accurate representation of the character of the 12th man. Navorro Bowman is a great player who plays the game the right way. When he went down, I dropped to a knee and prayed for him. He deserves better than having food thrown at him as he’s carted off a field. All players deserve better than that.
Read the rest HERE.
My thoughts:
If you refer to Richard Sherman, the Stanford-educated man as a “thug”…we know what you mean and we’re not stupid. Yelling in an interview and NOT using profanity doesn’t equal “thug.” But it IS noted how “thug” is only reserved for “certain” people and it IS clear how it is being used as a substitute.
Richard Sherman got his degree before he even started his last year of eligibility in college. In the Vancouver/Calgary hockey game this week, EIGHT players were ejected for fighting in the first MINUTE of the game.
“Thug” was never used once in the coverage of this event. It (thug) is a racial reference, not a descriptor of behavior.
One response to “Richard Sherman Responds to Twitter Critics re: Erin Andrews Interview”
Impressive reply. Perhaps he Was in the heat of it all…but composure is required when dealing with the public, especially when you are under the spotlight And EXPECTED to support a stereotype.