How HR views Richard Shermans post game interview

Nothing says badass mo-fo like Marshawn Lynch flying into the end zone while flexing his muscles and calling attention to his junk, BACKWARDS!

 A Richard Sherman and Seahawks weekend

This weekend, like many Seattleites, I watched the NFC Championship football game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Seattle Seahawks.

I am not a big football fan, but it’s easy to root for the home team when you have a team that celebrates the “12th Man,” like the Seahawks. Truth be known, Mrs. HRNasty was on eBay spending money on useless shit because “This is such a deal!” and screaming at the TV every time Seattle was going to touch the ball. I couldn’t take either of these outbursts, let alone both at the same time, so after about 5 minutes, I got up to practice casting with my fly rod. She convinced me she would calm down, and we watched the game together.  Ahhh, those sentimental Nasty family moments.   

HRNasty, escaping the eBay madness 

I, like everyone, stuck around for the entire game because it was a game until the end. This exciting game kept you watching and nervous, regardless of which team you were rooting for.

Immediately after the game, reporter Erin Andrews interviewed Richard Sherman, the cornerback for the Seahawks. It seemed that all hell had broken loose. If you are a bear in winter hibernation and just coming out of your cave, Erin Andrews asked a simple question. Uninitiated viewers received a lot more than they bargained for. Even if the viewer had a TV from the 1980s with rabbit ears, they still got 3D, quadraphonic, and DTS sound.  A raw, unabashed, rated R, under 17 requiring parent or guardian, in-your-face Richard Sherman victory tirade. Like everyone else, I was jolted. I didn’t understand exactly what he said at the moment, but I quickly concluded that the Seahawks brand was probably going to suffer. Over the next 3 minutes, the networks showed 20 replays of his message, and his message was crystal clear. 

“Well, I am the best corner in the game.  When you try me with a sorry receiver like Crabtree, that’s the result you’ll get.  Don’t ever talk about me!”

I turned to Mrs. Nasty and commented that it is too bad that after the team busts their ass and wins the game, this is what is going to be remembered. 

A wise man once said, “1 part shit and 99 part wine still tastes like shit.”

I don’t agree or disagree with what Richard Sherman said. Immediately, I couldn’t help but put on my corporate HR hat and make some business analogies. In my quick-to-judge mind, I jumped to conclusions just like everyone else. But I am not everyone else; I am HRNasty, not some mediocre HR practitioner who takes administrative orders from a pencil-neck CFO and pushes a lot of paper. (Like my Sherman impression?)

So, in typical HR fashion, I started doing some homework. Believe it or not, most HR Pro Am’s DO try to get the facts before deciding. Making a snap decision on a single view of time is what gives HR a shitty name. Over the years, I have made a conscious effort to make unbiased decisions regarding my work, and this judgmental and emotionally charged sports moment seemed all too familiar.

My CEO knows me

I will be the first to say, going into the game, although I understand football, I don’t follow the players at an individual level. I didn’t know anything about Richard Sherman’s background. The Monday morning after the game, when everyone else was discussing the big game, my CEO asked me, “Did you even watch the game?” because he knew that most days, I would be out on the water fishing rather than watching sports.    

Does this look like a bad guy? Richard Sherman in repose.

So, here is what I found out about Richard Sherman:

• A lot of athletes trash-talk.  Jordan and Bird were infamous for trying to get into each other’s heads. Ali might have had a little better flow, but he was a master trash talker in his time. (Trash talk isn’t anything new or reserved for professional athletes.  A day fishing with my fishing partner wouldn’t be fishing if we couldn’t trash-talk each other.  Anytime he asks me about a new cast or secret fishing place, my standard response is always, “You’re not ready.”
• Richard Sherman CAN back up his trash talk.  Herm Edwards, an ESPN insider, just named Sherman the number 1 cornerback in the league and had this to say about him. “He can play zone, but his strength is getting his arms on receivers in bump-and-run and disrupting routes.”  Sounds familiar.
• A cornerback’s skill set requires the ability to anticipate the quarterback (assumed to be the most intelligent guy on the field), execute both single and zone coverage, disrupt pass routes, block shedding, and tackle. I don’t know about you, but if I could do even 1 of those things without having an asthma attack, I would call that day a success. I might be able to stick my hand in the way and disrupt a receiver if I could keep up with him. I am sure that I will not be blocking or tackling. This is a special breed of athlete. The movie “300” and the Spartans come to mind.

Mind and body

• Richard Sherman is a smart guy. Mrs. Nasty has several friends who were professional athletes. After spending time with them and hearing their stories, I am convinced that to reach this level of play, one must be smart, dedicated, and have a great deal of drive. You don’t get to this level by accident. You don’t stay there long-term without all the tools, including a high level of intellectual horsepower. It may not be traditional business acumen, but make no mistake – at this level, you need to have the brainpower.
• Richard Sherman graduated 2^nd in his class in high school while playing sports and graduated from Stanford with a degree in communications. I couldn’t do any one of these in my wildest dreams. My Tiger parents would have to beat me like a rented mule to get me there. This guy got skills.   
• Richard Sherman has an articulate and well-written blog, as well as a charity.   This individual doesn’t earn a substantial amount of money according to NFL standards, but he finds a way to give back.  I know I don’t have a charitable bone in my body.
• Richard Sherman extended his hand to Crabtree after the play and got a face full. Although I don’t know what was said. . .  I gotta give the benefit of the doubt to Sherman on this one.

Richard Sherman getting “the hand” from Crabtree after reaching out

• The behavior displayed during the short interview IS typical of Richard Sherman. The Seahawks knew the kind of player they were picking up when they signed him. Richard Sherman is a passionate player who can back up his talk. If I were the owner of a professional sports team in a league, I would much rather have a player who can back up his trash talk than just one who talks trash. No one likes that guy.
• Richard Sherman took a knee in prayer for injured player Novarro Bowman, who was left with a torn ACL due to a gruesome injury earlier in the game.

Bowman out with a torn ACL

I’d be a hypocrite

If HRNasty had just made the game-winning play in the most crucial game of the season, I may or may not have trash-talked another player.  But you can be sure I would have said something like, “I’m going to Disneyland, Mother F*&%’ers!” When I close a hard-to-fill position for the company, leveraging my network vs. expensive recruiters, I get a little jumpy. I DO want to go to the exec team and scream, “Who’s your daddy bitches??!!” I have been known to throw in a growl and a most muscular pose for good measure.  

This guy got excited and passionate about a personal rival. I have seen a LOT worse behavior at PeeWee football games. We are not talking about the young players, either. I am talking about parents yelling at the coaches to put their precious little ones in the game. I have experienced the screech of a soccer mom yelling at referees when their little rug rat received an alleged bad call. We have witnessed grown adults yelling at little kids at baseball games for striking out or not running to first base hard enough. If I had the choice between Sherman and these parents, I would go with Sherman.

Allow some grace

As an HR pro-am, I am not here to judge a guy hyped up on adrenaline on probably one of the most important days of his life. I want to learn the history and background first. I need to try to give the benefit of the doubt. It turns out Richard Sherman and Crabtree had a little history. My point is that no one is perfect. Managers aren’t perfect; employees aren’t perfect. Our sports heroes aren’t always ideal.

I don’t know for sure, but if Richard Sherman could do it all over again, I think he would play it differently. This is sports, this is a battle, and frankly, this is war. I don’t have the warrior mentality to play professional sports. Yes, I may have the body, but I don’t have the mental toughness. If the guy in HR is going to trash-talk when he closes a candidate or catches a fish. . . I wonder what I would do on a game day in front of 50,000 fans if I blocked the winning goal.

I explain business decisions. They won’t all be liked

Everyone has his or her moments. I know I have had plenty, and more bad than good. We shouldn’t make quick judgments based on a single snapshot in time. There is usually a reason for everything. My job in HR is to explain business decisions. You may not like the decision personally, but hopefully, after HR provides a little background and perspective. All I can ask is that you respect it from a business perspective. My intention with this post is to encourage readers to think twice before making snap judgments and jumping to conclusions in the workplace. In a field of 32 teams where only a few will be contenders, I know I want Richard Sherman on my team. I wouldn’t want him playing for the competition. It’s all about perspective.  

See you at the after party,
HRNasty

nasty: an unreal maneuver of incredible technique, something that is ridiculously good, tricky, and manipulative but with a result that can’t help but be admired, a phrase used to describe someone good at something. “He has a nasty forkball”.

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