Richard Sherman promised a show for his Tuesday afternoon press conference. After deflecting reporters' locker room questions with "don't care" in protest of the NFL's fine on Marshawn Lynch, the Seattle Seahawks cornerback took the podium with a cardboard cutout of Doug Baldwin and acted out a two-minute skit that criticized the league. Sherman name-dropped his sponsors, then called the NFL hypocritical for claiming to care about player safety while occasionally scheduling teams to play twice in a five-day span.
Lynch was fined a total of $100,000 for violating the league's media policy after a Week 11 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs when he left the Seahawks' locker room before speaking with reporters. After the Seahawks' Week 12 win over the Arizona Cardinals, the running back sat down with reporters but only gave one-word answers.
Sherman's previous interview with reporters had mirrored Lynch's. With the help of Baldwin voicing the cardboard version of himself, Sherman's skit took a step further by lampooning the league. He mentioned Campbell's Soup, Neff sunglasses and Beats by Dre headphones. The league has threatened to fine players who plug non-NFL sanctioned sponsors (with Beats earning special scrutiny). Sherman contrasted that against the NFL, which takes a hard stance against players who earn alcohol-related charges but claims beer companies as its biggest sponsors.
Sherman may earn a fine for his comments, which in his case may be exactly what he wanted. Reports indicate that the Seahawks' locker room has turned "icy" since Lynch was fined. Sherman's press conference likely won't make it any warmer.
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