Considering Richard Sherman

Let’s take a break from politics for a minute and talk about a subject in which I am not nearly as fluent: sports.

Anyone who knows me will know that remaining impartial during major sporting events is not something I would usual find very difficult. However, I am currently living with some die-hard Seattle Seahawks fans. Since the Super Bowl produced very little to talk about, I want to back up a few weeks to the Richard Sherman interview with Erin Andrews.

Okay, I watched that game and interview live (I know, crazy right?).  We rewound it to try and understand what he said. We laughed. And then we ate dessert. Possibly because we are Seahawks and Richard Sherman fans, did we not realize until later the impact that interview would have.

Once again, society broke into two camps. In one camp, Sherman was a thug, psycho, and all around horrible person. The 12th man (and others) quickly pointed out that he was a Stanford grad, good player, and one of the most likable guys in the NFL.

So what’s between a thug and a saint? A human.

In that moment, he did sound like a crazy person. He had just beat the 49ers and Crabtree for a spot in the Super Bowl so humility would have been much better. Obviously.

On the other hand, he had just beat the 49ers and Crabtree for a spot in the Super Bowl. He was overly excited and reacted not unlike Kristen Bell meeting a sloth. Irrationally.

This whole incident speaks more media’s ability to define a person’s entire existence by a 20 second clip. The rant didn’t make him a bad person, and all the evidence people brought to his defense doesn’t necessarily make him a wonderful person. He’s just a person.

In an article Sherman wrote to try and explain what happened, he stated, “It was loud, it was in the moment, and it was just a small part of the person I am. I don’t want to be a villain, because I’m not a villainous person.”

So the next time an athlete reacts with passion, or a politician says something stupid, or Miley Cyrus performs I am going to try to remember they are human, and we all do stupid things sometimes. My feeling is that I will have an opportunity to test this new resolve and write about it very soon, considering something like similar happens nearly every week.

What did you think of Sherman’s interview?