KANSAS CITY, Mo. — It was live television at its best.
Just seconds after the NFC Championship Game that saw the Seattle Seahawks clinch a bid to Super Bowl XLVIII, one of the stars of the game reemerged. Cornerback Richard Sherman is known to be passionate and outspoken. He was given a microphone and a stage of more than 56 million viewers.
“Richard let me ask you, the final play. Take me through it,” asked Fox Sports reporter Erin Andrews on the field after the game.
“Well, I’m the best corner in the game, when you try me with a sorry receiver like Crabtree, that’s the result you gonna get,” the Seahawks All-Pro corner said.
The comments came from a play just moments earlier, where Sherman got a piece of what could have been a game winning touchdown pass intended for 49ers wide receiver Michael Crabtree.
“Don’t you ever talk about me,” Sherman said to Andrews in the interview.
“Who was talking about you?” Andrews then asked.
Sherman responded, “Crabtree. Don’t you open your mouth about the best.”
Local sports marketing veteran Gary Heise spent eight years working with players and coaches as the Director of Public Relations for the Kansas City Chiefs. Heise says the game is changing.
“These professional athletes are getting bigger, stronger, faster and it’s becoming a brutal game. For them to go out and play without any emotion, they aren’t going to last in the NFL,” he said.
Now the CEO of Premier Sports Management, Heise says the interview highlights the new, big business of sports.
“You know, networks pay a lot of money to carry those games, and as part of that, they are demanding more and more access. You’re getting comments right before kickoff, halftime, seconds after the game is over, and when you put yourself in that position you are going to get some heated comments like you got yesterday,” he said.
Heise says while companies, most likely, won’t be pounding on Sherman’s door today, there is no doubt the young All-Pro can recover.
“Time heals and changes everything. I don’t think Richard Sherman is a bad person and that will come back out,” Heise said.
