FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sunday, November 13th, 2016

FOOTBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA FEATURES MIKE TIRICO’S INTERVIEW WITH SEATTLE SEAHAWKS CORNERBACK RICHARD SHERMAN

“A simplification of the rules would be great. You have the referees out there doing quantum physics.” – Sherman on what needs to change in the NFL

STAMFORD, Conn. – Nov. 13, 2016 – For tonight’s Week 10 edition of NBC’s Football Night In America, the most-watched weekly studio show in sports, host Mike Tirico interviews Seattle Seahawks CB Richard Sherman. Football Night will also include highlights, analysis and reaction to earlier Week 10 games ahead of tonight’s Seahawks-Patriots Sunday Night Football showdown.

Football Night airs each Sunday at 7 p.m. ET on NBC. Tirico will host tonight’s program live from Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass. He will be joined on site by Sunday Night Football analyst Cris Collinsworth and sideline reporter Michele Tafoya.

Dan Patrick co-hosts Football Night from NBC Sports Group’s Studio 1, and is joined by Hall of Fame head coach Tony Dungy, two-time Super Bowl champion Rodney Harrison, and Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk on NBCSN, NBCSports.com and NBC Sports Radio. Paul Burmeister will report from Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pa., on the Cowboys-Steelers game.

INTERVIEW: Below are excerpts from Tirico’s interview with Sherman. If used, please note the mandatory credit: “In an exclusive interview airing tonight on Football Night in America.”

RICHARD SHERMAN WITH MIKE TIRICO

Tirico: “You’ve been critical of the league on a regular basis this year. If I put you in charge, what’s the one thing that needs to happen right away for things to get better in the NFL in your mind?”

Sherman: “A simplification of the rules would be great. You have the referees out there doing quantum physics. This rule book is bigger than most text books. That’s the first problem. Obviously, a relationship between the players and the league would be fantastic, but that’s not something that seems reasonable in the near future with the way things have gone.”

Tirico: “What can improve that relationship?”

Sherman: “Honesty, transparency, sensibility.”

Tirico: “There was a time when athletes were reticent about sharing their personal views on social issues, ‘we’re not role models.’ But, I feel, and you’re part of this, that generation is changing a little. You’re very willing to talk about All Lives Matter, Black Lives Matter, ‘the election results might show the true colors of our country.’ Why are you comfortable sharing your thoughts in a more public forum than others before you?”

Sherman: “The reason a lot of people aren’t comfortable with it is because of fear of judgement, fear of criticism, fear of backlash. I’m not fearful of those things. I think that I’m comfortable in my own skin; I’m comfortable with my opinion. That’s what allows me to continue to speak on these issues. Once I do get the backlash, it’s not like I fold up and go in a corner and cry. I don’t really worry about it.”

Tirico: “Playing New England has provided a couple of interesting mileposts in your career. The 2012 game – that was the ‘You mad, bro?’ game with Tom Brady. And then, in 2014, the Super Bowl. Talk about those two games and the experiences of being a part of really significant games in the Seahawks history.”

Sherman: “In 2012, nobody really knew who we were. Nobody knew who Bobby Wagner was. Nobody knew who Richard Sherman was. Russell Wilson was a third-round undersized quarterback. Move forward to the 2014 game [Super Bowl XLIX], guys are established, guys understood who we were, what we stood for, what kind of players we were. We gave a great fight, it came down to the final minutes like most of our games usually do, and here we are.”

Tirico: “What does it mean to measure where you guys are against the team that is always good and looks like they’re as good as ever this year?”

Sherman: “I would say we’re always good, and they have to measure themselves against us as well. It should be a good game.”

FOOTBALL NIGHT IN AMERICA