Richard Sherman has found himself the talk of the sports world after the Seattle Seahawks cornerback went on a little post-game rant about 49ers wide receiver Michael Crabtree. Sherman lashed out calling the receiver mediocre and himself the best. This has lent itself to some very harsh reactions on social media. As Sherman fights to defend himself, other athletes are voicing their support.
Miami Heat star LeBron James took to Twitter to speak up over the Sherman controversy. The cornerback has found himself the subject of several derogatory words and phrases, something James does not believe is warranted. James tweeted out, "I don't know one "thug" that graduated from Stanford and also working on their Masters! Don't judge a book by its cover. Keep going ham on the field @RSherman_25! Best of luck in the SuperBowl dude."
Sherman later apologized for the rant saying he took the attention away from his teammates and their big NFC championship win. The cornerback told media that he could have worded things different and the rant was merely a display of passion.
"The only reason it bothers me is because it seems like it's the accepted way of calling somebody the N-word nowadays," Sherman said, via ESPN.com. "I saw a hockey game where they threw the puck aside and just started fighting. I saw that and I'm like, 'So I'm the thug?' I know some 'thugs,' and they know I'm the furthest thing from a thug. I've fought that my whole life, just coming from where I'm coming from. Just because you hear Compton, you hear Watts, you hear cities like that, you just think 'thug, he's a gangster, he's this, that, and the other,' and then you hear Stanford, and they're like, 'oh man, that doesn't even make sense, that's an oxymoron.'You fight it for so long, and to have it come back up and people start to use it again, it's frustrating."
Erin Andrews has since spoken out about the now infamous interview. She told USA Today that she never once felt threatened or scared during the interview and loved the emotion Sherman was displaying after tipping a pass intended for Crabtree that would have won the 49ers the game.
"You expect these guys to play like maniacs and animals for 60 minutes," Andrews said.. "And then 90 seconds after he makes a career-defining, game-changing play, I'm gonna be mad because he's not giving me a cliché answer, 'That's what Seahawks football is all about and that's what we came to do and we practice for those situations.' No you don't. That was awesome. That was so awesome. And I loved it."
