Seahawks’ Richard Sherman regrets attacking 49ers receiver Michael Crabtree

Shutdown Corner

Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman has been able to reflect upon his verbal attack directed at San Francisco 49ers Michael Crabtree for over a week.

At first, Sherman did not back away from insulting the receiver during his NFC championship postgame interview. He called Crabtree mediocre during an interview session with the media, which followed his one-on-one television rant with Erin Andrews. Sherman eventually tried to blame the animosity on statements Crabtree made at him during a charity softball game. Then Sherman cried foul when some NFL observers labeled him a thug.

Sherman completed his full backtrack through MMQB.SI.com on Tuesday.

Upon further review, Sherman wishes he had not verbally insulted Crabtree, which led to his international fame – mostly for the wrong reasons.

Here is what Sherman wrote:

"No one has ever made himself great by showing how small someone else is. That’s not mine. It belongs to Irvin Himmel. Somebody tweeted it at me after the NFC Championship Game. If I could pass a lesson on to the kids it would be this: Don’t attack anybody. I shouldn’t have attacked Michael Crabtree the way I did. You don’t have to put anybody else down to make yourself bigger."

It appears Sherman finally gets it.

Sherman may have been caught up in the moment, but he is not a villain, nor does he enjoy being viewed as one. He is a positive role model, but that message was lost because of his antics. If Sherman wants to be known as a person who made it out of Compton, California, earned a Stanford education, and currently plays in the NFL, that positive message can be communicated better without being known as a person who insults others.

Some may feel Sherman should have learned that lesson earlier, but at least he finally understands the repercussions of his actions, especially when it comes to the children who look up to him.

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Anwar S Richardson

is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at NFLAnwar@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!