The Seattle Seahawks won theNFC Championship 23-17 over the San Francisco this past Sunday. Richard Sherman sealed the victory in front of the Seattle home crowd. Sherman intercepted a pass with seconds left on the clock from a pass intended to Michael Crabtree. During the post game interview Sherman’s emotions regarding Crabtree got the best of him. He barked , “Don’t you open your mouth about the best or I’m going to shut it for you real quick.” Some perceived the incident to be poor sportsmanship while others unfortunately blamed his behavior on his race. It’s unsurprising some stooped as low as racism as sports fanatics tend to show, disrespectful, highly competitive behavior. It was disappointing to see fans and others blame Sherman’s behavior on his African-American heritage.

Sherman publicly addressed the situation to Seattle reporters this past Wednesday. He stated, “Things like that happen and you deal with the consequences, you deal with people’s opinions. I have come from a place where it’s all adversity, so what’s a little bit more? What’s a little bit more of people telling what you can’t do?” It was beneficial for Sherman’s reputation to publicly address the incident, however his lack of apology will make future fans question his integrity.

While many were disappointed by the athlete’s behavior, others felt the incident helped Sherman stand out amongst his teammates and give him character although it may be bold. On the positive side, the incident showed he is brave and is not afraid to stand up for himself unlike some players who keep quiet and just ‘follow the script’. The crisis also helped Sherman to gain an online presence as media was overloaded with comments about Sherman immediately after the interview. Greg Botelho, the author of the article quotes Susan Bolles a fan of the Seahawks, stating, “We see him on the news and signing things for kids, doing charitable work, showing up at schools unannounced. We see the sides of Richard that no one sees.”

Although Sherman’s interview may have been a little too blunt for fans and viewers, if it helps him gain as little popularity as to encourage people to even google his name, it’s an advantage above other athletes. I’m sure Richard Sherman’s team, public relations assistants and himself are currently hard at work thinking up ways to renew his reputation as a respectable teammate. The best thing for Sherman to do now would be to continue proving himself to the community as an intelligent Stanford grad and Seahawks player, who strives to be an honest individual with strong character. Continuing to do charity work and proving he’s trying to be a ‘well-rounded’ individual will eventually help to overshadow the interview incident and help restore his favorable reputation as an incredible athlete.

-pictures from google images

http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/22/us/5-things-richard-sherman/