Richard Sherman responds to criticism following postgame interview
Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman gave a passionate postgame interview with FOX's Erin Andrews following Seattle's NFC Championship victory over the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday night.
Sherman called himself "the best cornerback in the game" and referred to 49ers wide receiver Michael Crabtree as a "sorry receiver" before looking into the camera and saying (presumably to Crabtree): "Don't you ever talk about me."
In a column for Sports Illustrated's Monday Morning Quarterback, Sherman responded to the negative feedback he received for his postgame comments.
"It was loud, it was in the moment, and it was just a small part of the person I am," Sherman wrote about the interview.
The cornerback claims he ran over to Crabtree, following his deflection that led to the game-clinching interception, to shake his hand but Crabtree ignored Sherman. Sherman said he stuck out his hand and said "Good game," but received a shove to the face in return.
He went on to call Crabtree a "subpar player" and say he is not a top-20 receiver in the National Football League.
But that's not Sherman's issue with the 49ers wideout.
Crabtree apparently said something critical to Sherman during the offseason in Arizona. The Seattle Times spoke with Sherman's brother, who claimed Crabtree tried to fight the Seahawks corner at a charity event held by Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald.
"I'm going to make a play and embarrass him," Sherman vowed after the altercation, according to The Seattle Times.
"A lot of what I said to Andrews was adrenaline talking, and some of that was Crabtree. I just don't like him," Sherman wrote this morning.
The Stanford graduate then addressed the negative comments he received following the interview, mostly on Twitter:
To those who would call me a thug or worse because I show passion on a football field - 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.
But people find it easy to take shots on Twitter, and to use racial slurs and bullying language far worse than what you'll see from me. It's sad and somewhat unbelievable to me that the world is still this way, but it is. I can handle it.
Sherman also addressed the choking gesture he made toward 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, Seahawks fans throwing food on injured 49ers linebacker Navorro Bowman, and his team's Super Bowl opponent: Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos. To read Sherman's full column, click HERE.