RENTON — Instead of thr standard weekly question-and-answer session with local reporters, Seahawks CB Richard Sherman stood next to the podium in the Virginia Mason Athletic Center auditorium Tuesday and staged a skit with teammate WR Doug Baldwin to protest the NFL’s $100,000 fine on RB Marshawn Lynch for not speaking to the media.
Since every skit needs at least one prop, they used a cardboard cutout of Baldwin, while the opinionated wide receiver knelt behind it and provided the voice-over.
Sherman and Baldwin engaged in a mock dialogue touting their commercial endorsements in order to mock the NFL’s perceived hypocrisy in its media policy.
Courtesy of The News Tribune:
The transcript of this pigskin theater:
Baldwin: “How have you stayed busy this offseason?”
Sherman: “It’s been incredible. We’ve done a lot of things.”
“Ya know, the other day, Marshawn Lynch got fined $100,000. Did you know that? $100,000. And it’s like, they wouldn’t have even paid him that much if he had talked.
Doug, do you think they would have paid him $100K?
Baldwin: “No, they sure wouldn’t have.”
Sherman: “Jeez Louise. You know who does pay me a lot of money? Beats by Dre, the wonderful headphones that I wear.”
Baldwin: “I like those headphones.” (Bose is the official headphone of the NFL. Players aren’t allowed to wear non-NFL-sponsored brands on the field starting 90 minutes before kickoff and 90 minutes after the end of the game).
Sherman: “But the league doesn’t let me say anything about (Beats by Dre). Doug, why is it that?”
Baldwin: “I don’t know. It sounds kind of hypocritical to me.”
Sherman: “It sounds a little bit hypocritical. It seems like we’re in the league where they say, players don’t endorse any alcohol, please don’t endorse alcohol, no DUIs, but yet a beer sponsor is their biggest sponsor.” (Anheuser-Busch, maker of Bud Light, is actually the league’s second largest sponsor.)
Baldwin: “Sounds very hypocritical.”
Sherman: “That’s very very interesting. It’s crazy that in this offseason you get to have a good time, you get to wear Neff shades and beanies, you get to eat some Campbell’s Soup — my girl was sick this week and she got some Campbell’s soup in her. Campbell’s Soup is always good, so kids, when you get sick, get some Campbell’s Soup in you. It’s always a great deal. Very healthy, very good for you. Chicken noodle soup around this time. It’s flu season.” (Sherman endorses Campbell’s).
Baldwin: “Speaking of health, how do you feel about the NFL making you play two games in five days?”
Sherman: “Migawd, I almost didn’t realize that, because they’ve been talking about player safety so much. Two games in five days doesn’t seem like (the NFL doesn’t) care about player safety. It’s a little bit much for me. But Doug, you look pretty healthy, you look like you’re having a good time. You look like you’ve been eating good. What kind of sandwiches have you been eating?
Baldwin: “I like to eat fresh, so I eat my Subway. I’d also like to wash my Subway down with a bottle of Martinelli’s.” (Both are endorsed by Baldwin.)
Sherman: “Ohmigawd, Martinelli’s seems like a great beverage.”
“It’s fun in the NFL to use your time and speak about something you care about, right? ‘Cause then, you don’t get fined $100,000. You don’t get fined at all for this. This is how (the NFL wants) us to talk, right? This is what they want us to do. They want us to advertise, right Doug?”
Baldwin: “Sounds about right to me.”
Sherman: “Alright, got to make some money, gotta not get fined. Anybody got any questions?”
Baldwin: “No, I don’t think so.”
The players walked off the stage without taking questions from reporters. Sherman later apologized to reporters, saying they wanted to make a point about the NFL influencing what players say and do not say.
At least one player, 49ers starting SS Eric Reid, thought it was worth a salutary tweet:
Despite the rivalry, Richard Sherman’s interview was awesome.
— Eric Reid (@E_Reid35) November 25, 2014
9 Comments
Sherm, you know you work for an oligarchy. You have to be a “team” player to work there which means you have to swallow a lot of s**t and agree it’s for the greater good. That’s why they give you CEO money . . .
Didn’t Coach Carroll just give a speech on keeping focus? On maintaining team goals? Instead we have the lead RB continuing to float the rules the NFL mandates and now the star CB and top WR mocking that same league for their rules.
There’s no hypocrisy here. When you put on that uniform and accept their paycheck you agree to abide by those rules. And they’re compensated HANDSOMELY for that. They have half a year off and play once a week. Once the NFL sees this press conference Sherman will get an earful. Doubt he’ll get fined but you never know. What players need to understand is that though they think they’re football players, they aren’t. They’re employees for a large entertainment corporation and to continue to be paid what they are they need to get their brand out in the public eye at every opportunity. That’s the purpose of press conferences. That’s what Sherman took advantage of today.
Lynch is a graduate from Cal and Baldwin and Sherman from Stanford. They’re very smart but don’t necessarily have wisdom. Or because of their age the life experience to properly deal with these scenarios. Young men, and that’s what they are, who’s first full time job is in the NFL can understandably take their given situation for granted and that’s what they’re doing now.
Quiote agree with your comments. Well put. Might politics be the next field for Richard? Perhaps the republicans could hire him to speak to an empty chair at the next convention.
Huh. They need a scriptwriter, but it’s no problem by me if they want to poke at the bear. The NFL is hypocritical, whether thru its sponsorship policy, players have to talk, or hiding the truth about knowing of drug and people abuse, or injury protection (concussions and extra exhibitions and Thursday games).
Good for Sherman and Baldwin.
As I was watching sports center talk about Lynch’s one word answers I had this thought. When Bellichek answers every question about the game they just played with “on to Cincinnatti” does he get fined?
Pointing out the hypocracy of the NFL isn’t the same thing as not supporting the NFL and the game of football. Hopefully the league will listen, because Sherman and Baldwin made some good points.
Fining Lynch $100k is absurd. How about fining the coaches and players who repeat the same old tired phrases week after week, season after season. Or better yet, the so-called reporters who ask the same inane questions each week.
For all the levity and plugs (BTW, Rich, Beats are overpriced for what you get), Sherm and The Angry One both touched on something pretty serious: For all the talk about “player safety,” why in God’s name are teams only given three days off between games just so the NFL can be on Thursday nights? If TNF involved two teams coming off a bye week that would be one thing. Instead, the NFL is sacrificing player health for a few more shekels from CBS).
Let’s all hope for a typically good Seahawks-49ers game, but let’s all pray that nobody from EITHER team gets hurt because he didn’t get enough rest and healing going in.
Why are they playing more games when there’s safety issues? Easy. It’s money. The NFL is not a sports league, it’s an entertainment corporation. And part of the reason the league needs that money is to pay it’s multi-millionaire players.
Sure it’s about money. At least Vince McMahon was honest in calling pro wrestling “entertainment” (although he didn’t really have a choice by the time he did).
I hope these two guys learned enough at Stanford to invest at least some of all that money wisely now because all those hits come a cropper down the road SOMETIME. Too bad so many of the former players who really built the NFL weren’t as fortunate…retirement has been a living hell for some of them. Not that the NLFPA has been any better to them than the owners. Even Gene Upshaw, who should’ve known better, turned his back.