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Seattle Seahawk players Richard Sherman and Doug Baldwin have held a hilarious and strange press conference where the pair - with Baldwin represented by a cut out of himself as he crouched behind the podium providing its voice - took the NFL to task for their hypocrisy on player fines, sponsorships and player health.
Check out the video by the Tacoma News Tribune below.
In the bizarre set up, according to the Bleacher Report the two addressed teammate Marshawn Lynch's recent 100k fine from the NFL for leaving a game without speaking to reporters (kicking off a suspended fine in the process), and the fact that the league is sponsored by Bose headphones, while Sherman and many others are sponsored by Beats by Dre.
"You know," said Sherman "the other day, Marshawn Lynch got fined $100,000. Did you know that? They wouldn't have paid him $100,000 if he had talked [before the fine]. Doug, do you think they would have paid him?"
"No, they sure would not," replied Baldwin.
Sherman, smiling, added, "Geez, Louise. But you know who pays me a lot of money? Beats by Dre, the wonderful headphones I wear. But the league doesn't let me say anything about them. Doug, why is that?"
"I don't know," posed Baldwin. "Sounds kind of hypocritical to me."
They then pointed out that while NFL players can't take on individual alcohol sponsorships, the league has a blankety sponsor in multi-national Annheuser-Busch.
Said Sherman, "Yeah, it sounds a little bit hypocritical. It seems like we're in a league where they say, 'Players, please don't endorse any alcohol. No DUIs please.' But yet, a beer sponsor is their biggest sponsor. Doug, how do you feel about that?"
"Like I said," replied Baldwin, "sounds very hypocritical."
"Very, very interesting," mused Sherman. "It's crazy. In the offseason you get to wear Neff beanies, you get to eat Campbell's soup. My girl [girlfriend Ashley Lillian Moss] was sick this week and we got some Campbell's soup in her. So kids, when you get sick, make sure you get some Campbell's soup."
Most impressively, the pair then took on the league's stance on player health... while also forcing players to play games on short amounts of rest.
Asked Baldwin, "Speaking of health, how do you feel about the NFL making you play two games in five days?"
"On my gosh, geez," replied Sherman, "I almost didn't realize that because they've been talking about players' safety so much. Two games in five days doesn't seem like you care about players' safety much. It's a little bit much for me. But Doug, you look pretty healthy to me. Looks like you've been eating good. What kind of sandwiches have you been having?"
Baldwin replied, plugging Subway. "You know, I like to eat fresh, so I eat my Subway [the sandwich restaurant that makes his cutouts]. And I wash it down with a bottle of Martinelli's [apple juice and cider]."
A smiling Sherman added "Sounds like a great beverage. It's fun to use your time in the NFL for something you care about, right? Then you don't get fined $100,000. You don't get fined at all for this. This is how they want us to talk. This is what they want us to do. They want us to advertise, right, Doug?"
Said Baldwin: "Sounds about right to me."
"Gotta make some money. Gotta not get fined. Any questions?" finished Sherman.
The cut out Baldwin said, "No. I don't think so."
The pair then walked off without taking any questions.
Check out ESPN's repsonse below.
And the response on twitter.
Props to @RSherman_25 ! He speaks the truth about BS #NFL policies- Watch the video & let me know what u think https://t.co/Insoc0KhXz
— Jeff G. (@TheSportsDude) November 26, 2014
Of course that didn't stop ESPN's Daren Rovell from defending the huge conglomerate brands sponsoring the NFL... and pointing out that the pair slamming the NFL's sponsorship policy is strange, considering that it benefits them. ... in their short, non-guaranteed contracts during careers that last, on average somewhere between 3.3 and 6 years.
Richard Sherman & Doug Baldwin should probably get their facts straight before doing a parody of the league's sponsorship deals.
— darren rovell (@darrenrovell) November 26, 2014
NFL players get 45% of NFL sponsorship $, goes into the cap. So players do benefit from league deals.
— darren rovell (@darrenrovell) November 26, 2014
By having a Beats deal, and the league doing a Bose deal, Sherman is technically double dipping + got the Campbell's deal thru league.
— darren rovell (@darrenrovell) November 26, 2014
Sherman also said he can't talk about Beats by Dre. Also not true. He can talk all he wants. He just can't wear logo in postgame.
— darren rovell (@darrenrovell) November 26, 2014
Final point on Sherman/Baldwin: Talking to media is part of the job. They wouldn't make as much if NFL wasn't pulling in $7B/year from media
— darren rovell (@darrenrovell) November 26, 2014
Showing that he's not concerned about whatever the NFL might have in store for him, Sherman today also took to twitter to promote his new app, Letters of Boom.
Excited to release #LettersofBoom, my new word game. make words blow up stuff. It's simple, (cont) https://t.co/1pv2aR5KxO
— Richard Sherman (@RSherman_25) November 26, 2014
So how do you think the NFL will punish the Seattle players? A fine? A suspension, even though they technically spoke to reporters? Should they not be punished at all?
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