Seattle Seahawk Richard Sherman woke up this morning to an avalanche of racist attacks on social media after the biggest game of his NFL career.
Sherman is arguably the best defensive back in the NFL. He's also a man with a communications degree from Stanford University who is working on his master's. Last night, after winning the NFC Championship and making one of the biggest plays in the closing seconds of a tightly contested ballgame with the San Francisco 49ers, Sherman displayed over-the-top emotion in a televised interview.
Asked by Fox's Erin Andrews about his reaction to the game, Sherman called out San Francisco wide receiver Michael Crabtree, whom he had been defending and obviously with whom he had been trash-talking. Andrews looked surprised when Sherman shouted his reaction and walked away.
Some were amused by Sherman's comments. Other commentators called him rude and disrespectful.
Then the blatantly racist reactions began to roll in, with Twitter comments calling him the n-word, a "jungle monkey" and a "gorilla."
"Lol don't mess with Richard Sherman, he will go bananas. Guys a fricken jungle monkey."
"Richard Sherman = cocky [n—ger]. #SEAvsSF"
"Richard Sherman's an ignorant ape."
"I can't wait till manning and the rest of the broncos light Richard Sherman up# shut up you dumb [n—ger]"
"Richard Sherman deserves to get shot in the [f—king] head. Disrespectful [n—ger]."
Sherman and the Seahawks will take on the Denver Broncos in the Super Bowl, Feb. 2. The Broncos are already favored by a point.