I may be a little late to the party, but people are still talking about the comments made by Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman after they beat the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship Game. What he said bothered me but it took me a while to put my finger on it.

I was not bothered by Sherman’s bombast and bravado or the fact that he sounded like he was auditioning for the WWE. He had just got done playing in a battle royale and emotions run high, so I give him a pass for that. I played in very competitive flag football tournaments with two teammates who played defensive back in college. They could easily give Sherman a run for his money in being loud and talkative and I learned to tune them out like background noise. I would love having a teammate like Sherman if they had his skills and would figure the yakking is part of the package.

He’s also a funny guy (“if you try and get in Peyton Manning’s head, you’ll get lost” was a good line) and smart and articulate, and the NFL needs more guys willing to speak their minds. No, what bothered me was that Sherman was all about “me” and not “we.”

Context is important here:

The play everyone was talking about occurred with 30 seconds to go and San Francisco driving for the go-ahead score at the Seahawks’ 18. On first down, Colin Kaepernick threw a fade pass in the right corner to Michael Crabtree. Sherman reached up and tipped the ball. Game over – or so it seems if you just listen to Sherman boasting about how he stopped Crabtree. Except, that’s only part of what happened. Sherman tipped the ball and it was caught for the interception by linebacker Malcolm Smith.

If Smith does not make a great hustle play to be in that spot, the ball falls harmlessly to the ground and San Francisco has second down, 22 seconds and two timeouts left, plenty of time for at least three more plays. If the Niners wound up scoring, Sherman’s tip would have not been noticed by anyone. It took teamwork, not a one-man band to end the game.

Yet Sherman never mentioned Smith in the on-field interview. Even in his 12-minute press conference after he showered and dressed, he never said his name. In fact, he erroneously credited safety Earl Thomas with making the interception.

Had Sherman simply been more inclusive of his teammates, he could have ranted and raved and boasted and talked all the smack he wants; he would have earned the right. It wasn’t the tone that pissed me off but the content. Last time I checked, football isn’t a one-man sport.

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