Superstar Cornerback Richard Sherman Talks Hypocrisies and Inconsistencies in the NFL
“TV ratings are down, and I think we can point to the NFL legislating the emotion out of the game as a contributing factor.”
“I think if the NFL had its way, we would all be robots.”
For Richard Sherman’s latest column on The Players’ Tribune, the Pro-Bowler/World Champion talks a bit about the NFL’s personal conduct policies and the hypocrisies that weave in-and-out of its mandates. The article starts with a look at the always controversial endzone celebrations, where Sherman stated “Antonio Brown can’t twerk after a touchdown because it’s ‘sexually suggestive.’ But every Sunday, on most sidelines, there are rows of cheerleaders doing the same types of moves to entertain the crowd.”
The Stanford graduate went on to discuss inconsistencies in how the NFL defines what exactly a catch is as well as how it handles domestic violence cases and drug-related charges. And while ESPN’s Darren Rovell recently reported NFL’s television ratings may be down because of “anthem protests,” Sherman has a much different perspective.
TV ratings are down, and I think we can point to the NFL legislating the emotion out of the game as a contributing factor. The NFL is enforcing a policy against celebration. Against joy. Against fun. It’s something I know a lot of players are frustrated with, and it appears that fans may be as well.
Richard concludes his piece by suggesting Goddell should relinquish some of his power and introduce third-party arbitrators as well as committees of former players and coaches to help establish a fair system of checks and balances. “At the end of the day, fans don’t want to watch robots. They want to watch players having fun and showing emotion.”
Read Richard Sherman’s entire article here.
