NEW YORK -- One week after Richard Sherman's postgame comments heard 'round the world, a few things have changed. Your mom knows who Richard Sherman is. And the Seahawks have a better idea of what kind of attention they'll receive in New York and New Jersey this week.
"I definitely think it helped," Sherman said of last week's attention. "Everybody getting a chance to see the cameras and tons of media and the press conferences. It's helped everybody evolve and get to the next level of media and what kind of messages they want to put across."
Schein: Defending Richard Sherman
Sherman is ready for the big stage. He had hundreds of reporters waiting on his every word Sunday night after the Seahawks' arrival, and made a number of honest comments. (Including giving Denver Broncos wide receiver Demaryius Thomassome love.)
Sherman noted that in some ways, this week is no different than any other. He says you can't say "crazy things" and provide soundbites any week considering today's social media climate. Still, he doesn't shy away from being open on any issue. Sherman rightly took issue with being called a "thug" last week, and was happy to see the topic discussed nationally.
"I think it did have some effect on opening up the channels of communication and conversation and dialogue. I think I had some impact on it, and I want to have a positive impact. I want people to understand that everybody should be judged by their character and who they are as a person and not by the color of their skin. I think that's something we've worked to get past as a nation, as a country and we're continuing to work on it. It's healthy.
"Everything that happened, all the people who sent the messages, who tweeted what they tweeted, it ends up turning around to be a positive because it opens back up the discussion and people begin to get more educated. Anytime you get more knowledge, you're more powerful as a person."
*We handed out awards for the 2014 coaching class and talked all the latest headlines in the latest "Around The League Podcast." *
