Richard Sherman - Misunderstood

Its 1st & 10 at the Seahawks 18yd line with just 28 seconds left, as Colin Kaepernick and the 49ers are driving down the field looking for the go-ahead score trailing 23-17. Kaepernick drops back, and looks to make a fade pass towards Michael Crabtree in the corner of the endzone. Richard Sherman tips the pass away, and Malcolm Smith grabs it for the interception....game over. Minutes later, sideline reporter Erin Andrews goes to interview Richard Sherman.....and we all know what followed.

What do we expect? It was a tense, exciting moment that had just occurred. Sherman had made a huge play that sent the Seahawks and their sophomore QB Russell Wilson to the Super Bowl. Do we expect the cliches? "It was a tough game", "We just had to make the big play". The typical ho-hum/golly gee gosh response? Too often we grumble and complain how players and coaches all just say the same cliche things in these situations. Yet we hold a double-standard for when moments like this occur. Sherman gives us a real candid/emotional response, and the media/fans rip him for it. Well, what do you want?  The same old-same old? Or a real heat of the moment response, a genuine moment? It should also be noted that Sherman didn't go on a profanity-laden rant, he was in control in most regards.

Sherman knows his role. He helps Wilson, Marshawn Lynch, and the rest by letting them just do their thing, while Sherman acts as the personality of the team. He knows what he's doing, and knows his brand. Sherman talks the talk, but he also walks the walk as one of, if not the best corner in the game.

Yet following this interview, social media was buzzing, labeling Sherman as a "thug" and "jerk". Take a look around the league. Look at Riley Cooper for instance and this incident that occurred this past summer. During the Eagles/Saints playoff game however, you heard the media and commentators especially talking about his great comeback, how he's really turned around. Where are those same labels for Cooper? Remember, Sherman has never had anything similar happen outside the field. Or what about Texas A&M QB Johnny Manziel? He acts similar to Sherman, and while he gets criticized, most of it is just about how he's still young, immature. No "thug" labels. And if we go back in time, what would today's media say about Muhammad Ali? He would go on some real rants, ones that would make Sherman's look positively polite. Reporters so up in arms over Sherman would be fainting.

Most only know Sherman from his on-field antics, but don't what he does off the field. He writes a regular column for MMQB (monday morning quarterback).He had a 4.2gpa in high school, and  graduated from Stanford, yes, that Stanford, with a 3.9gpa. The epic video between Richard Sherman and Skip Bayless also shows he knows how to handle a debate.

We demand players to act a certain way. We're uncomfortable when they act outside the norm, whether it be Tim Tebow or Sherman. Too often players put on this facade, say what the media wants to hear, do what the media wants them to do. I wish more players were like Sherman, and stopped hiding themselves. Show us who you really are, your true self.

   http://mmqb.si.com/2014/01/20/richard-sherman-interview-michael-crabtree/

"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" - Richard Sherman