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Richard Sherman Defends DeSean Jackson

Seattle Seahawks star blasts Philadelphia Eagles and media for double standard.

Richard Sherman knows what it’s like to be miscast in the public’s eye. After the Philadelphia Eagles cut DeSean Jackson last week, following a report by NJ.com that tied Jackson to a Los Angeles street gang, Sherman penned a blog in support of the big-play wide receiver.

"Commit certain crimes in this league and be a certain color, and you get help, but not scorn," Sherman wrote on TheMMBQ.com. Sherman, the outspoken leader of the Seattle Seahawks defense, spoke out against the media’s inaccurate portrayal of Jackson. Like Jackson, Sherman grew up in a rough neighborhood in Southern California. (The two played little league baseball together, coached by Jackson's father.) Like Jackson, Sherman has recently been labeled a thug by the American media (based solely on a post-game rant delivered seconds after the most intense moment of his NFL career).

Sherman called out several examples of the double standard that exists in how the media and NFL reacts to bad behavior by non-Blacks in the league.

"Look at the way many in the media wrote about Jim Irsay after his DUI arrest," Sherman wrote. “Nobody suggested the Colts owner had 'ties' to drug trafficking, even though he was caught driving with controlled substances (prescription pills) and $29,000 in cash to do who-knows-what with. Instead, poor millionaire Mr. Irsay needs help, some wrote."

Irsay was arrested in March and charge with DWI and four felony counts of possession of a controlled substance.

Sherman also blasted the Eagles for cutting Jackson, but signing Riley Cooper to a contract extension after the wide receiver was caught using the N-word at a music concert.

"This off season they re-signed a player who was caught on video screaming, 'I will fight every n—– here.' He was representing the Philadelphia Eagles when he said it, because, of course, everything we do is reflective of the organization. But what did they do to Riley Cooper, who, if he’s not a racist, at least has "ties" to racist activity? They fined him and sent him to counseling. No suspension necessary for Cooper and no punishment from the NFL, despite its new interest in policing our use of the N-word on the field. Riley instead got a few days off from training camp and a nice contract in the off season, too," Sherman wrote of the incident that cause much tension in the Eagles' locker room last season.

Jackson has since signed with the Washington Redskins, but Sherman is not letting the Eagles off the hook.

"If it’s true the Eagles terminated his contract in part because they grew afraid of his alleged 'gang ties,' then they did something worse," he wrote.

 

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 (Photos from left: Vivien Killilea/Getty Images for Starter, Michael Loccisano/Getty Images For ESPN)

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