Richard Sherman woke up Thursday morning unsure if he would be able to practice with this team or finish out the season, but the Seahawks cornerback got good news this morning, hearing he had won his appeal and will not be serving a four-game suspension for violating the league’s policy on performance enhancing substances. And before heading out to practice, an obviously happy Sherman met with the media to talk about his eventful day.
“Justice was finally served, and I appreciate the league for allowing justice to be served and allowing me to continue to play,” Sherman said.
After his attorney called with the good news, Sherman shared the news with his teammates, and celebration in the locker room ensued.
“High fives,” Sherman said. “As old school as it is, it’s still the best way to celebrate.”
Even though Sherman has maintained his innocence all along, he admitted this was stressful because he didn’t know how the league would rule.
“There was obviously a good amount of stress, because you just don’t know,” he said. “You know how strong your case is, but it was just great to finally get it over with and get the win and just have that burden off your shoulders and be able to move on and try to make this playoff run with my guys.”
Sherman’s defense was that that there were irregularities in the way his urine sample was handled by the tester. And, more importantly, that he didn’t take anything illegal.
“That’s why we’re sitting right now, because there were a lot of mistakes made on top of me never taking anything,” Sherman said. “That’s kind of the big one.”
Sherman said he heard from people who told him he’d be better off serving the suspension rather than fight an uphill battle, but he instead decided to risk missing the playoffs because he believed in his innocence.
“Yeah, a lot of people said that,” he said. “People said, ‘Your chances are slim to none.’ I told them, ‘My chances have always been slim to none, and I’ve always found a way to win those.’ You don’t make it this far without getting through some kind of adversity, and this is just another phase. I have great teammates and great coaches who supported me through it, the great fans we have supported and had faith throughout the whole process. I was appreciative of that.”
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