The Seattle Seahawks ceaseless chirping bird is at it again, as polarizing cornerback Richard Sherman is calling the NFL commissioner out for taking the “fun” out of the game and thereby adversely damaging ratings. According to CBS Sports.com, the outspoken diplomat ranted his way under a heavy salvo of words and continued an increasingly disturbing “good cop, bad cop” public tug-of-war with Roger Goodell, that has all the makings of a secret bromance setting off conspiracy alarms across the Pacific seismic network, complete with a hot tub, cigar, and caviar gathering for the couple at the season’s end.
Mr. Sherman was also quite outspoken publicly in defending the reprehensible actions of a certain San Francisco 49er quarterback and quoting the recognition of injustices and promoting dialogue as the mitigating circumstances for disparaging the National Anthem. With these two test cases in the public conscious, the question has to be asked, “Why are professional athletes at the apex of the pyramid continually battling with ownership and the leadership of the various sporting leagues over supposed injustice and why is the business professionalism continuously being attacked those in Sherman’s position?”
Mr. Sherman and others in his profession are very well-compensated for fulfilling their job descriptions, and some would criticize compared to the importance of other jobs in society, the players are paid too well. At the same time a stigma exists in a certain demographic of society that the only way to attain success or climb the economic ladder is to accomplish nearly the impossible and earn a vaunted spot in the fraternity of the NFL or NBA. While this false notion is great for the prestige and legend of Sherman and others, currently there are a plethora of attainable and well-paying careers available in the US that employers are not able to fill. The simple solution to paid athletes in the limelight is to stop whining injustice, flexing muscles and flaunting bling and start promoting that suit-wearing individuals can be viable roll models as well. “Suits” can be cool and it can be you. It may just help bridge the supposed chasm that exists now against an impossible fantasy and a tangible reality.
Read the full CBS Sports.com article here.