Richard Sherman decided to use his Tuesday press conference to protest the $100,000 fine that Marshawn Lynch received for not speaking with the media earlier this season and he brought along a friend and a prop to do so.
The Seahawks shutdown cornerback took the stage with Doug Baldwin (and a Baldwin cardboard cutout) to discuss Lynch’s fine and the NFL’s “hypocritical” policies on player safety and alcohol endorsement deals among other things. Sherman even gave a prominent Beats By Dre shout out during the press conference in an apparent dare to the league office. It was bizarre, weirdly entertaining and wholly Sherman-esque.
Although the entire thing is gold, the best part of Sherman’s spiel may have been his opening salvo:
You 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 one hundred thousand if he had talked. (Addressing the Baldwin cutout) If he had spoken, do you think they would have paid him one hundred thousand? (Baldwin: “No, they wouldn’t have.”)
Jeez Louise.
But you know who does pay me a lot of money? Beats by Dre, the wonderful headphones that I wear. But the league doesn’t let me say anything about them.
Sherman had told the media that he’d have something special in store for the them following the Seahawks’ victory over the Cardinals on Sunday.
Sherman had hinted of what was to come following Seattle’s win Sunday over Arizona when he answered a few questions with short answers and then said that was what the media would get for what happened with Lynch, and told them to wait and see what would happen at his press conference (he typically speaks on Thursdays but it was moved up this week due to Seattle’s Thanksgiving night game at San Francisco).
Sherman refused to take questions after his press conference/live theater show. The NFL may have fined Marshawn Lynch for not talking enough but it will be interesting to see if they will fine Richard Sherman for talking too much.
