Last week, Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman opted not to conduct his weekly podium press conference. But he still spoke to the media from his locker, in order to explain that he won’t be talking -- and to promise that we’ll all miss him when he’s gone.
This week, Sherman again didn’t speak at the podium. He also declined to speak at his locker.
Via Curtis Crabtree of KJR and PFT, Sherman said he wasn’t talking because everyone ticked him off. Sherman also said that he’s only talking to Ed Werder of ESPN and through Sherman’s social media accounts.
It’s unclear why Werder is the chosen one. Apparently, he’s the only one who hasn’t ticked Richard off.
Sherman became ticked off in the aftermath of last month’s Thursday night game against the Rams, when he was criticized (and aggressively questioned) for criticizing the team’s offensive play calling. More than two weeks ago, Sherman punctuated a midweek press conference by threatening to “ruin” a reporter’s career over the issue, comments that clearly landed Sherman in hot water with the team -- although it’s still unclear what if anything the team did about it.
If Sherman refuses to speak to the media, the league eventually will do something about it. He’ll be fined in increasing amounts, like his former teammate Marshawn Lynch was.
It’s disappointing that Sherman is lashing out over fair criticism of his words and deeds. Then again, it must be hard for him to adjust to the sudden abandonment of the at-times exhausting narrative from some in the media that Sherman’s Stanford education makes all of his comments above and beyond any sort of reproach.
Even the smartest people at times say stupid things. And it’s very stupid for smart people to ignore the fair criticism of the stupid things they say.