Shannon Sharpe is one of the most accomplished tight ends in NFL history and he has turned himself into one of the most outspoken broadcasters covering the league.
Sharpe continued that trend following Sunday's AFC Championship game, ripping New England head coach Bill Belichick for spurning the network for a postgame interview with Steve Tasker.
"There is something to be said about being gracious in defeat," Sharpe said according to ESPN.com. "We've seen the New England Patriots five times in the last 12 years be victorious [in the AFC title game]. And we've seen the opposing coaches that lost come out and talk to our [reporter] Steve Tasker. Coach [Bill] Cowher did it when he lost to them."
Sharpe obviously is a CBs employee, but he does have a legitimate point about being gracious in defeat. Sure, Belichick likely did not want to have to answer questions about the loss directly after it, but he also could have said a few quick words and left and no one would have jumped on him.
"Bill Belichick makes it real easy for you to root against the Patriots. You can't be a poor sport all the time. You're not going to win all the time, and he does this every time he loses. It is unacceptable," said Sharpe.
Belichick has never been one to worry about what other people think and although Sharpe was rude to CBS, it is important to note that he was not rude to opposing coach John Harbaugh during the post-game handshake.
Harbaugh and Belichick spent a long moment at the middle of the field following the Ravens' 28-13 win and had a short conversation before parting ways.
According to NFL.com, Harbaugh said Belichick was anything but rude.
"Coach Belichick after the game was so classy with what he said. I'll treasure that conversation forever," Harbaugh told SI.com's Peter King. "Before the game, we talked, and he said maybe we should just skip the postgame handshake because it's such a circus. I said I didn't know; I thought we should do it, it's just the right thing to do. And we did. He was so classy, so gracious. Complimentary about how we played, about our game plan, about how tough it is to play us. I told him how much we pattern our organization around theirs, how much we study them."
The two coaches were connected through last year's AFC championship, when the Ravens lost in heartbreaking fashion by dropping the possible game-winning touchdown and missing the possible game-tying field goal.
Sharpe was one of the best tight ends in NFL history, finishing with 815 receptions for 10,060 yards and 69 touchdowns, while winning the Super Bowl three times with the Denver Broncos and Baltimore Ravens. He made eight Pro Bowls and was part of the 1990s All-Decade Team.
Many on Twitter and social media commented on what Sharpe said, including Tim Brando, Sage Steele and Michael Kim of ESPN.
"Thanks to Shannon Sharpe for saying what should have been said a long time ago. The inability to be gracious is defeat is a character flaw!" wrote Brando.
Said Sage Steele: Loved "@ShannonSharpe 's comments about Bill Belichick's post game snub. Shannon's right.. Talking only when it goes your way? Smh #Patriots"
Sharpe is qualified to make the comments about the coach, but Belichick is cut from a different cloth from many NFL head coaches, which is one reason why he has won three Super Bowls with the Patriots. He is usually very curt with the media and it is common for him to give three word answers to reporters during his press conferences.
Following the game, Belichick did go through the mandatory post-game press conference and likely thought the CBS one after the game was not important. For argument's sake, if Mike Smith, who lost in the championship game didn't do an interview following his game, would Sharpe have been as outraged?
Adding to the story, SI.com reporter Richard Deitsch said winning 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh did the same thing to FOX after winning his game.
Wrote Deitsch: Fox Sports on why Niners coach Jim Harbaugh did not speak with them after Falcons-Niners game: "We don't know. It's frustrating."
The Ravens are heading to their first Super Bowl in 12 seasons and the first fir coach Harbaugh
