Message to Richard Sherman - Honoring your Opponent
The Seattle Seahawks & San Francisco 49ers engaged in a brutal NFC championship game that was decided on a brilliant deflection by Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman that resulted in an interception by linebacker Malcom Smith in the waning moments of the game. The Seahawks clinched a 23-17 victory with the play and are headed to Super Bowl XLVII on February 2, 2014 to play the Denver Broncos.
After Smith's interception, Sherman said he ran over to shake Crabtree's hand & was rebuffed by him with a shove to the face. This action by Crabtree enraged Sherman, and he then executed a classless choke sign in the direction of Colin Kaepernick that you can see in the above clip. After witnessing Sherman's immediate actions after the interception, I tweeted, "Richard Sherman is a peach. Ridiculous sportsmanship!" This statement was made before Sherman's infamous interview with Erin Andrews, where he said, "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. Don't you open your mouth about the best, or I'm going to shut it for you real quick. LOB! {Legion of Boom}"
After the Sherman/Andrews interview, debate raged on social media for hours. There was no gray area in the discussion. Either one thought Sherman was a pompous ass or one felt that he had a right to express himself. People who were upset by Sherman said he was a clown, classless, thug, poor role model, etc. Those who defended his actions, but didn't necessarily condone them tried to explain away his behavior with the following arguments:
(1) The Grown Man Defense - Pros are Different than College
(2) Trash Talking is a Part of the Game - Others do it defense
(3) Lack of Time to Gather Self for Interview
(4) Racial Animus Defense - Black Athletes Can't Win the PR Battle
(5) Part of his Sthick - "The Muhammad Ali Defense"
(6) Athletes are Not Role Models
(7) Showing Emotion - Heat of the Moment Defense
(8) It's Football, not tiddlywinks
My take on Sherman's actions are very simple. The final block of John Wooden's Pyramid of Success is "Competitive Greatness." Wooden lists six statements on game competition as it relates to competitive greatness. One statement applies to this situation:
Have respect without fear for every opponent and confidence without cockiness in regards to yourself.
Many people are outraged by Sherman's interview with Erin Andrews. I'm also outraged by the interview, but I'm even more outraged by his antics after the play. When you've won the game, one should be celebrating what you and your team are about {accomplishments} instead of disparaging your opponent.
Here are some of my thoughts on the situation:
Only thing I can say about Richard Sherman is that he doesn't fake the funk. That nasty/cocky mentality is what makes him the player he is.
Now Richard Sherman is being corporate - showing how he graduated from Standford - Amazing metamorphosis since Erin Andrew's interview. That 1 is a classic.
He's definitely that {asshole} & he's not the only 1 in NFL - most are better at masking it - he's got no filter.
I don't care about smack talking in game. You don't call a fellow NFL player SORRY & you damn sure don't use a choke sign - Classless!
"C'mon Man-Showing Emotion." Please-Sherman was over the top - Emoting doesn't give one the right to disparage a worthy opponent.
One should honor their opponents as best they can after a heated battle. It's called maturity & respect.
Honoring your opponent & knowing how to win/lose with class is not the province of a certain level - standard for Youth to the Pros!
Sherman's antics were out of bounds - why he got penalized & why twitter is blowing up.
It ain't that complex - Sherman has a mean streak - so do most great players - I'm not looking for angels at the highest level, but .......
I knew someone would bring up Ali - most of Ali's act was before the fight, part promotional & part bravado. Ali was castigated for his attacks on Joe Frazier - he sometimes crossed the line. But after the last Ali & Frazier fight - nothing but respect - too tired & too beaten to feel anything else. Not all viewed Ali in a positive light as a result if his comments about Frazier - In trilogy with Muhammad Ali the words hurt Joe Frazier the most.
In regards to others do it - I'll say the same thing I would say to my son - Don't bring in how others are behaving, worry about how you behave.
Smack talking between the lines is one thing, doing it in front of cameras after you won is another.
That's where you're wrong. Pro athletics in that respect is not different than any other level. Pros should set the standard.
"Crabtree is a mediocre receiver, at best." Sherman went from calling Crabtree sorry to mediocre in subsequent interviews. Time mellowed him out? Can't wait to hear post game thoughts after Broncos.
It's not about being a role model, it's about the right way to do things.
Heat of the moment - That's an excuse - a very low bar - name 10 athletes who have ever acted in that manner after winning.
When you win you should be celebrating what you & your team are about, not disparaging your opponent. That's why it's offensive.
That's why Trent Williams punched Richard Sherman because he doesn't know when to stop the B.S.
"Rich Sherman has just "Keyser Soze'd Twitter. The guy is a Stanford grad w/ a degree in Communications. Now the world knows his name.....smh" LeVelle Moton
I think you underestimate Richard Sherman by using "gather self" argument - he's smart enough to know what he was trying to do. He made a huge play at a critical juncture in the game. He's a big time player who is thirsting for a national stage.
I'll consider the interview to be somewhat calculating, but the antics after the play were totally classless.
"I don't think we should make a business of projecting onto people the qualities we like to think we have, ourselves."
You know exactly what I'm talking about - In game talking is just a part of the equation & you deal with it.
How many times have you seen an athlete act in that manner after making a big play to clinch a game. My pt of view in handling victory is simple - You should be celebrating what you & your team are about not disparaging your opponent. Actually
"I want Michael Crabtree & Richard Sherman to squash this mess PLEASE. We don't need anymore more brother on brother degrading Period. Let it go!" Deion Sanders
B.S. "All it took was for a black athlete to be hype after a tough game today for racists.." B.S. twice
One thing I know for sure Michael Crabtree's opinion of self is not affected by what Richard Sherman said - It will be on in 2014-2015 NFL Season.
"You'll appreciate this from Bear Bryant" Coach Stewart -
1) It’s awfully important to win with humility. It’s also important to lose. I hate to lose worse than anyone, but if you never lose you won’t know how to act. If you lose with humility, then you can come back.
6) I have tried to teach them to show class, to have pride, and to display character. I think football, winning games, takes care of itself if you do that.
Now it's getting comical - Richard Sherman continues his diatribe against Michael Crabtree & social media critics.
Advice to Richard Sherman from John Wooden "Have respect without fear for every opponent & confidence without cockiness in regards to yourself."
Ray Lokar -
I'm more concerned with the immediate acts after the big play - the taunting & choke sign. Concerned with both, but I know his interview was calculated to draw attention to self - Over the top, but his schtick. Really We're setting the bar real low to excuse that type of behavior, especially after a game clinching play.
How to Win with Humility Lose with Honor
I love athletes with a "killer mentality." When you take the heart out of your opponent, let the act speak for itself. We notice.
Obvious in whose mind, Crabtree is not a subpar player-man came back from serious injury 2 contribute. Get Serious!
Comments by others on Richard Sherman's article,‘To Those Who Would Call Me a Thug or Worse …’
about last night make for interesting reading & enlightenment.
"What's proper to you, Clarence? The vile things that Jordan, and Bird, and Stockton used to say to their opponents" @BIGSPORTSWRITER Me: As for proper
Postscript - Richard Sherman apologized the day after:
"I apologize for attacking an individual and taking the attention away from the fantastic game by my teammates ... That was not my intent," Sherman said Monday in a text message to ESPN's Ed Werder. Sherman also addressed his postgame comments in an interview Monday with ESPN Radio on the "SVP and Russillo" show. "Obviously I could have worded things better and could obviously have had a better reaction and done things differently," he said during the interview. "But it is what it is now, and people's reactions are what they are."
Sharing excerpts from John Wilner's article on Sherman, "Richard Sherman lives 'on the edge,' says Stanford's David Shaw:"
"Bill Walsh said you want guys with high character who are great players and great people," Shaw said."But every once in a while, you have to line up and defend Jerry Rice. And the guy who does that has to be on the edge. That's where Richard is."
Raised in Compton, surrounded by street gangs, Sherman was a straight-A student who took Advanced Placement classes, attended leadership seminars and finished second in his class.
The son of a garbage truck driver and a social worker, he became the first Dominguez High School graduate in the past half century to receive a football scholarship from Stanford.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell's comments on Richard Sherman:
"No, I'm not cheering for that," Goodell said on "CBS This Morning" on Thursday, referring to comments Sherman made. "(Sherman) is such a great young man. He is extremely well-spoken, does great things off the field, obviously a great player on the field. I want him to present himself in the best possible way and make sure that he is reflecting on himself and his family in a positive way."
Sherman was fined $7,875 for taunting (Choke sign). To make it clear, wasn't fined for post game comments. "Richard Sherman Fined for Taunting"
MORE SHERMAN:
I'm linking 2 articles that demonstrate how calculating Sherman was in his post-game rants:
Seahawks Star Richard Sherman Gave Fox Preview of Postgame Rant:
During a Friday meeting before the NFC title game with Fox’s Joe Buck and Troy Aikman, Sherman — with no specific prompting — brought up Crabtree. “We were talking about (Anquan) Boldin, and about how he plays the game, and he (Sherman) kind of steered the conversation toward Crabtree . . .,” Buck said. “Obviously it was something he wanted to get off his chest.” “When that happened (Sherman wigging into reporter Erin Andrews’ microphone) Troy and I looked at each other and it was like ‘wow.’ He had said a lot of the same stuff at our meeting Friday,” Buck said.Seahawks’ Richard Sherman Is Much More Than Just Talk:
Outside school, Sherman’s favorite course was imitation. He studied cocksure athletes like Deion Sanders and Michael Irvin and Muhammad Ali, some of the sporting world’s best entertainers. He noticed their mannerisms, how they oozed confidence and charisma and passion, and resolved to create a similar persona for himself. He did. He became the avatar of the modern showboating athlete.
“His fascination was that Ali was able to talk trash and be the best at what he did but never cross that line,” Sherman’s father, Kevin, said. “At the end of his career, everybody was still talking about him. What more can you ask for?”
Sherman's post-game interview after the Seahawks dominant Super Bowl victory - "A Win Takes Away All The Pain"
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