Between the lines is where you should be judged most

It isn’t about what you said. It is about how and where you said it.

That is my only message to Richard Sherman.

Be happy. Hell, be filled with raw emotion and joy. You and the Seattle Seahawks are going to the Super Bowl. A trip that your team earned with stellar defense and hard work. Nobody denies that for the Seahawks. Nobody denies that Sherman’s pass deflection (and let’s not forget the actual interception) were big plays. If Sherman isn’t there, maybe it is a catch; if the linebacker wasn’t there, it is also just an incomplete pass.

But your rant, that antic…it is uncalled for. This folks is not what sports are about.

Everyone talks trash on the field, especially defensive backs and receivers, the most notoriously cocky and brash of the player positions. But ranting like Richard Sherman did was over the line of good taste. Celebrate the moment, the accomplishment. Don’t, metaphorically, show your ass just because you have a camera and a live mic.

What Sherman said in his second interview, upon the team receiving the NFC trophy, that was perfect. Granted, we all know that probably took someone grabbing him by the dreads and telling him to watch his mouth.

The initial interview with Erin Andrews was a classless moment. Does that make Richard Sherman uneducated? No. You can’t attend Stanford, even as a football player, without being educated. You sure can’t have a high GPA if you aren’t educated. You can’t be your high school salutatorian as he was by being uneducated. But it was an uneducated moment. And it is a moment that Sherman, even in his predictable (probably written by the Seattle front office) apology can’t seem to be educated about.

“Don’t judge a man by what he does between the lines,” he says.

Well why not? Do we not judge Jim Harbaugh for his sideline antics? Didn’t we call Ray Lewis over the top? Wasn’t Deion Sanders considered obnoxious, brash and cocky? Isn’t Terrell Owens ‘classless’ in the minds of many for all of his celebrations?

Have people not called out Michael Crabtree for his mouth during games? Didn’t Richard Sherman call out Michael Crabtree for his mouth during games?

Why not judge a man for what he does between the lines. After all, this is the biggest test of a professional athlete to me. Very few pay key, critical attention to what these guys are really like off the field. Because unless it makes a headline, it doesn’t affect general society.

But Richard Sherman’s $465,000 a year to play a game means to me that what he does between the lines matters. It matters to fans, to kids, to people who you should be a role model to. No wonder some of the fans in Seattle throw popcorn and injured opposing players. Why should they act right? Richard Sherman doesn’t.

Can I roll into work and say what I want, any time I want? Can any of us just act however we want because we shouldn’t be judged by what we do “between the walls?” I think not. And really, most of us aren’t even considered role models, especially to the extent Richard Sherman is. $465,000 and camera time on national television makes your role in society more important than most. So why not make it your best so high school and rec. league age football players who are molding their attitudes don’t think it is best to emulate you and your schoolyard rant?

What you do between those lines does matter, it matters a lot. And yes, I will judge you for those actions, the same way any other athlete is judged for their on-field or on-court antics when they are unbecoming on the team, the league or the sport. You earned that right when you accepted your paycheck.

And ok, it is also a little bit about what you said. Forget who you targeted. Forget that I like Michael Crabtree. Forget his 200-plus receiving yards in the playoffs. This is about Richard Sherman, who for those playing at home, is not the best cornerback in the game. 1 pass deflection and 0 interceptions in two playoff games does not the best corner make. Not to mention, this is a guy, who while leading the league in interceptions during the regular season, was tied with 5 other guys ranked 14^th in pass deflections and only had a career mark in one statistical category. Is he good? Clearly? Is he the best? That is debatable. And when you run your mouth like Sherman did after the NFC Title game, your claim to the top spot has to be a little more clear than “debatable.”

But let’s not take away from the big picture: timing is everything. New Twitter followers are great, but Richard Sherman needs to understand that not all press in good press.

And also, there is still that pesky task of trying to stop Peyton Manning. Isn’t that right Mr. Best Corner?