Richard Sherman’s Self Proclaimed Unappealable Fine
Seattle Seahawks all-pro cornerback, Richard Sherman, has never been one to mince his words and is not afraid of putting anybody in the league on blast.[1] the only penalty called by the officials on the field was the offside penalty.[2] This led to media and fan outrage across social media who believed that Sherman should have been penalized for a late hit.[3] During the game even Dean Blandino, the Vice President of NFL officiating, admitted that a penalty flag should have been thrown.[4]
In the week following the game Sherman was fined $9,000 for his hit on Carpenter.[5] After receiving the fine he asserted that he could not “really appeal something that is ‘he said, she said.”’[6] The league issued the fine for a hit they claim occurred after the whistle was blown although they admitted that they could not hear the whistle when listening to the replay.[7] On the other hand, Sherman remains adamant that there was no such whistle.[8]
The NFL allows for appeals on all fines the commissioner’s office levies out.[9] Once a player appeals a fine their case is randomly assigned to one of two of the league’s appeals officers.[10] The appeals officer assigned to the case is responsible for reviewing the play and hearing the arguments of both sides.[11] At that point the officer makes a binding decision.[12]
Sherman’s skepticism of the league’s appeals process is understandable. The NFL has become notorious for legal controversy with Tom Brady and “deflategate” at the forefront.[13] However, his skepticism in this case seems to be misguided. The NFL Players Association, which represents the interests of players such as Sherman in all matters, had a heavy hand in appointing the appeals officers.[14] This suggests that the appeals officers are impartial third parties who are capable of reviewing the play and hearing Sherman’s argument without bias. Additionally, both appeals officers themselves are former NFL players and have seen the appeals process from both sides of the coin.[15]
When watching the replay of the play in question a whistle is not audible when Sherman jumps offside but is clearly audible once he hits Carpenter.[16] Additionally, other players on the field continued to play after the alleged whistle including Carpenter himself who got hit because he attempted to kick the field goal. This evidence lends credibility to Sherman’s account that the whistle was not initially blown. Since the league fined Sherman for a hit after the whistle, contrary to Sherman’s belief, it seems more likely that an appeals officer would accept his account as true and overturn the fine in the absence of concrete proof that a whistle was blown. Sherman’s skepticism of the league’s appeals process and the league’s integrity in general might have cost him to the tune of $9,000.
Footnotes
