Richard Sherman is a man of many talents. He balls on the field and is never afraid to show emotion. He won’t back down from a confrontation and he has the intelligence to speak on just about any matter or social issue.
This holds true when it comes to the state of the NFL.
With all of the debate erupting over the state of the league’s plummeting television ratings, Sherman decided to chime in with his own perspective on the issue.
“Because the League isn’t fun anymore,” he said. “Every other league, you see players have a good time. It’s a game. This isn’t politics. This isn’t justice. This is entertainment.”
Could it be this simple? While others have suggested that it’s due to the Kaepernick movement, the World Series, the Presidential election or the airing of games on Twitter, some just might agree with Sherman, especially based upon that “exciting” thriller of a game between the Seahawks and Cardinals that ended in an overtime 6-6 tie.
Unless you’re a defensive purist, that game was a manifestation of what’s wrong in the NFL today.
Sherman was not bashful about going after Commissioner Goodell either, stating that “he hasn’t done a great job/”
Richard Sherman on Roger Goodell: “He hasn’t done a great job. It’s the truth.” Has never heard from the league on complaints #Seahawks#NFL
Aaron Levine (@AaronQ13Fox) November 3, 2016
It appears that Sherman is on to something because there are examples which back up his theory. Missed calls during key moments in games (including a missed pass interference call against Sherman in crunch time when they played the Falcons three weeks ago), bad calls which the league had to apologize for the next day and other events have all contributed to Sherman’s theory.
And he’s not alone in the recent criticism, as its current MVP, Cam Newton, voiced his anger over the treatment he has been receiving lately by the refs.
We all saw the blatantly missed calls in the season opener against Denver, where Cam took multiple shots to the dome without a penalty. This past weekend he took a low blow to the legs which should have been a penalty, but no flag was thrown on the play.
This hit on Cam Newton should have been a penalty. pic.twitter.com/VA8Q3ooTvy
Mike Pereira (@MikePereira) October 30, 2016
So a player’s safety can be held in low regard, but when Antonio Brown twerks, a pure form of entertainment, it results in criticism, a penalty and a fine.
Yeah, there’s definitely something to this “No Fun League” characterization.
Maybe they need to promote/highlight (code words for instigate) another Josh Norman-Odell Beckham Jr. fight. That will help the ratings right?
But since they haven’t had that kind of “excitement” this season, it appears that fans don’t want to tune in as much. Maybe the Ravens-Steelers game this weekend will give fans the hard hitting, intense rivalry game the league needs to rekindle the fans passion and drive the ratings back up.
If not, they can always blame Odell Beckham.
