SANTA CLARA, CA – DECEMBER 16: Richard Sherman #25 of the San Francisco 49ers kneels after an injury to Ahkello Witherspoon #23 during their NFL game against the Seattle Seahawks at Levi’s Stadium on December 16, 2018 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
Richard Sherman appears to have lied about Baker Mayfield’s non-handshake before Monday Night Football.
Richard Sherman made headlines when he made the claim on his Twitter account that Baker Mayfield snubbed his pre-game handshake attempt when the two met at midfield during the coin flip.
The plot thickened on Tuesday afternoon when video was released that showed Sherman and Mayfield clearly engaging in a handshake during that portion of the pre-game:
Sherman almost immediately responded to criticism, taking to the comments to assert:
This is likely going nowhere.
Sherman initially overstated the extent to which Mayfield snubbed him, but that does not implicate or change the way that the handshake made him feel. He changed his stance to indicate that the handshake simply felt “petty,” and when viewing the clip its obvious that there is definitely tension between the two. Or, at least, that there is noticeably less camaraderie between them.
Sherman followed up the perceived-snub with a big game against the Browns’ quarterback, registering four tackles and an interception en route to a 31-3 drubbing of Cleveland in front of a national audience. The win catapulted the San Fransisco to a 4-0 start on the season.
After hearing for the better part of two weeks and through their bye week that they did not belong amongst the upper echelon of teams in the NFL, it was clear on Monday night that the team played with a chip on its shoulder.
It started with the first play from scrimmage when running back Matt Breida ran 83 yards for a touchdown, continued with the defense’s absolute domination of Mayfield and the Browns’ offense, and was punctuated with Nick Bosa’s “planting the flag” sack-celebration in which he mocked Mayfield’s iconic planting of the OU flag in The Horseshoe at Ohio State in 2017.