The Seattle Seahawks' decision to release Richard Sherman and the cornerback's subsequent decision to sign with the San Francisco 49ers have triggered an array of feelings in the Pacific Northwest. Those include sorrow over the departure of a franchise icon and disappointment in the decision to part with a player who, even if coming off an injury, could still help the team.
Sherman has taken notice of another one -- apparent indignation among some over his joining the rival team. Sherman addressed that, among many other aspects of what's been a life- and career-altering week and a half, in a recent piece for The Players' Tribune.
The cornerback said he gets why some Seahawks fans aren't happy that he's now with the 49ers, but he offered the obvious reminder that it was the Seahawks who moved on, not the other way around.
"So yes, I understand why some fans don't like the idea of me in a 49ers uniform. But I still spent seven incredible years in Seattle -- the Pro Bowls, the Super Bowls, the L.O.B. ... all that stuff still happened, right? It's just amazing to me how quickly people forget," Sherman wrote. "I'm very appreciative of -- and humbled by -- all the 12s who have shown me support over the last couple of weeks. Throughout my time in Seattle, you guys have been nothing short of amazing. I'll always have love for the 12s.
"But this whole process has definitely made me more aware of the hate and hypocrisy that's out there. You got fans calling me a traitor and burning my jersey when they probably know that if they got fired from their job tomorrow, and a competitor offered them more money, they'd take it in a heartbeat."
Sherman wrote that the Seattle area will still be a home base of sorts and that he'll "always be proud to call Seattle home." He owns a house there that he and his fiancée don't plan on selling. Their children will still be schooled in the area. He also plans to continue his charitable work in the community.
While Sherman wrote in the piece that he didn't realize it at the time, his Seahawks career effectively ended when he ruptured his Achilles in a November game against the Arizona Cardinals.
"But I hope Seahawks fans remember that image," Sherman wrote before noting the injuries he played through during his time with Seattle. Among them were a hyperextended elbow he suffered on Jan. 18, 2015, in the NFC Championship Game against the Green Bay Packers and an MCL sprain during the second half of the 2016 season. His Achilles had also been bothering him for several weeks before it ruptured.
Sherman has expressed appreciation for how the Seahawks handled his release, specifically that they did it before free agency, which gave him the best opportunity to catch on with a new team. But The Players' Tribune piece makes clear that he's still rankled by the decision to release him in the first place even if he understands the motivation behind it.
"Seven years and I didn't miss a game until my Achilles finally went. And this is what I get. At the first sign of adversity ... they let me go," Sherman wrote. "But I understand. This is a business. And the Seahawks decided that that best thing for their franchise was to show me the door. Well, I disagree."
Sherman added: "I have no regrets about my time in Seattle -- only great memories of incredible fans, and of teammates who will be my brothers for life. I know I wasn't always perfect, but whatever mistakes I may have made, I made because I was trying to be the best player and the best teammate I could possibly be -- and because, more than anything, I wanted to win. I worked with some incredible people in Seattle. My relationship with [coach Pete Carroll] goes all the way back to when he recruited me in high school, and I'll always be grateful to [general manager] John Schneider and everyone in the Seahawks organization for taking a chance on a kid that most people had overlooked."