Richard Sherman Won't Let It Go

The exclusive account of how his offseason of discontent traces to the Super Bowl That Got Away and the rift it created among him, Russell Wilson and Pete Carroll.

- Seth Wickersham

Richard Sherman wanted to send a message to Russell Wilson. It was June 2014, and it’d been a testy day at Seahawks minicamp, with defensive players hitting the offense in a noncontact practice. On one play, Sherman had ripped off the helmet and jersey of receiver Phil Bates, igniting a brawl, the cornerback’s dreadlocks flopping in the air. Both sides cleared. Pharrell Williams’ “Happy” blasted from the loudspeakers. But the defense, a ruthless and crazy and awesome bunch that less than five months earlier had delivered the franchise its first

Super Bowl victory, was just getting started.

Sherman is famous for loving practice, for treating it like a game, for rarely missing it even when injured. For him, it’s where a mystical bond is forged and a win on Sunday becomes an almost accidental byproduct. And so, a few plays later, when Sherman picked off Wilson, it wasn’t enough just to make a great play. He wanted to get inside Wilson’s head, to remind the young Pro Bowler that despite his Super Bowl fame—and endorsements that many on the defense felt they deserved—Sherman still owned his ass.

According to witnesses, Sherman threw the ball back to Wilson and yelled, “You f---ing suck!” Another fight broke out. Sherman was cussing and yelling; Wilson seemed stunned. Pete Carroll stopped practice and would later hold a series of meetings to remind the players they needed to build one another up, not tear one another down—and that they needed to support their quarterback, further pissing off a defense that already thought the head coach went out of his way to protect him.