On Monday night, after the San Francisco 49ers demolished the Cleveland Browns, 31-3, 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman, who is in his 9thyear in the NFL, blasted Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield for allegedly not shaking his hand after the pregame coin toss. Sherman snapped, “What’s amazing, and annoying, was him not shaking hands at the beginning,” Sherman said, speaking with NFL.com’s Michael Silver. “That’s some college s—. It’s ridiculous. We’re all trying to get psyched up, but shaking hands with your opponent — that’s NFL etiquette. And when you pull bush league stuff, that’s disrespectful to the game. And believe me, that’s gonna get us fired up … Respect the game. You can have rivals, but pay your respect in that moment — especially when you’re young.”
Sherman continued, “He hasn’t earned anything in this league. How many games has he won? He’s acting like he was the MVP last year. If (Patrick) Mahomes did that, it would be one thing. But he would never do that, because he has too much respect for the game. And when you see a guy who doesn’t? You humble him every chance you get. Because eventually, he will have respect for the league — or he’ll be out of it.”
Teammate DeForest Buckner echoed, “That can rub a lot of people the wrong way. I guess it’s part of his game. Oh well.”
Sherman seemingly ignored the fact that Mayfield shook hands with everyone before the coin flip, then dashed off to get ready after the coin flip.
WHAT IS SHERM TALKING ABOUT HE LITERALLY SHOOK BAKER'S HAND
BAKER SHOOK EVERYONE'S HAND pic.twitter.com/Vl5AjYt5Jv
— Cappin America (@FlammyMarciano) October 8, 2019
So Richard Sherman claims Baker Mayfield refused to shake his hand at the coin toss. This video seems to indicate otherwise: pic.twitter.com/4CgOsLKLPL
— Jake Trotter (@Jake_Trotter) October 8, 2019
So Richard Sherman is mad Baker Mayfield ran off the field and didn't shake hands a second time during the coin toss? This might be the dumbest controversy of all-time pic.twitter.com/zZssOt7CMW
— gifdsports (@gifdsports) October 8, 2019
Sherman cited Mayfield saying it “blows my mind” that the New York Giants drafted quarterback Daniel Jones sixth overall as well as other instances where Mayfield spoke out, then snapped, “There’s no reason for him to say and do those things, especially given how little he’s accomplished. That’s where he’s gonna have to grow up. He might get there, but he has a long way to go.”
Mayfield’s outspoken behavior also includes this, as The Daily Wire reported in early August:
On Tuesday, after he spotted men serving in the U.S. Army, Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield reportedly refused a directive to stop signing autographs and come back to the team. Baker took time with every single soldier, signing whatever they’d asked of him and taking photos with the servicemen. “Baker Mayfield was called off the field by the team when autographs were supposed to be over. He refused and signed and took selfies with every soldier remaining on the field,” Cleveland.com reporter Hayden Grove captioned the video of Mayfield on Twitter.
Sherman apologized on Tuesday — sort of. CBS News reported that he told The MMQB’s Albert Breer it wasn’t Mayfield refusing to shake his hand but the fact that he ran to the sideline after the coin toss that triggered his ire, saying, “That’s it. They are making way too big of a story of a blowout. He pissed us off. We put a foot in his ass. End of story.”