After the NFC Championship game between the Seattle Seahawks and the San Francisco 49ers, the attention of the media was not on the Seahawks victory, but rather on a ranting interview response by Seahawk cornerback Richard Sherman. 

It began when Fox Sports reporter Erin Andrew pulled Sherman aside after he forced the game ending interception for the Seahawks. Andrews asked Sherman to take her through the final play. His response shocked football fans across the nation.

“I’m the best corner in the game. You try me with a sorry receiver like Crabtree, that’s the result you’re going to get. Don’t you ever talk about me!”

Andrews responded with, “Who was talking about you?”

“Crabtree! Don’t you open your mouth about the best, or I’m going to shut it for you real quick!”

After his response, the television quickly cut away from the interview and Andrews tossed it back the main reporters.

I sat on my brown leather couch, jaw on the ground, watching on in disbelief after what I had just heard. 

Sherman is a member of what experts call “the best defense in the NFL.” He did what he was supposed to do: stop Crabtree from catching the ball to win the game. Did he have to yell that he was the best? Would that not have been implied? Now, Sherman is not known for making game winning play, but instead his trash talk interview.

I think what was the most shocking thing about this entire incident was that Sherman has a communications degree from Stanford. I feel like interview skills would have been covered at some point in time during his college career. As an aspiring journalist, my plan is to obtain a broadcast journalism degree and one day stand where Andrews did that Sunday afternoon. I only hope to learn how to handle an interview like Sherman’s as well as Andrews did, with complete professionalism. Instead of Sherman’s excellence in the game, my focus moved to the excellence in the interview demonstrated by Andrews.