In a wide-ranging article on Peter King’s MMQB site, Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman absolutely laid into NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and the National Football League.
Not holding back, Sherman had this to say about Goodell’s management of the league itself.
I look at the NFL today and I’m as disappointed as ever in its management. Commissioner Roger Goodell operates at a high level, but he’s doing what 32 owners tell him to do. I once believed that having more retired players in the league office could remedy this, but the former player in the highest position, executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent, continues to disappoint. When he told Adrian Peterson he’d receive a two-game suspension and the league failed to deliver, he became just another suit.
It is disappointing that a former NFL player such as Vincent would fall in line with the powers to be in New York City. When he took over his current role as VP of Football Operations, there was some hope that Vincent would be able to bring in the mentality that comes with being a former NFL player. That is to say, he would understand better the players themselves. That obviously hasn’t happened. As Sherman indicates, he has become just another suit.
The outspoken defensive back continued…
Under Goodell the league continues to put players like Marshawn Lynch in a position to be mocked by the media, which seems to get a kick out of seeing people struggle on camera. As teammates we’re angry because we know what certain people do well and we know what they struggle with. Marshawn’s talking to the press is the equivalent of putting a reporter on a football field and telling him to tackle Adrian Peterson.
I am not terribly sure about the correlation between Lynch talking to the media and a media member attempting to tackle Peterson on the field. One thing is for sure. The league seems to be zeroing in on Lynch, who has issues when it comes to speaking to the public. Whether this is embedded in his personality or there is something larger at hand here, it’s too novice to say that Lynch doesn’t speak to the media simply because he doesn’t want to. It seems that’s what Sherman was getting at.
The full article will be in the new issue of Sports Illustrated that features Sherman and the Legion of Boom on the cover.
But for now, check out MMQB for the piece. It’s a great read from one of the most intelligent football players on the planet.