Richard Sherman fined for taunting Colin Kaepernick with choking gesture
Richard Sherman was not shy about expressing himself following his game-saving tip. (Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images)
The NFL did not let Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman off penalty-free for his enthusiastic celebration late in last Sunday's NFC championship game against the 49ers. The league Friday announced that Sherman had been fined $7,875 for the choking gesture that he flashed at San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick after Kaepernick threw a game-clinching interception.
There were no other fines issued for the game.
Sherman's taunt of Kaepernick was pushed to the background by his postgame interview with FOX's Erin Andrews, in which Sherman called out 49ers wide receiver Michael Crabtree. FOX cut away from the interview after two questions -- a move that producer Richie Zyontz defended because it "started crossing a line".
"I saw a train coming down the tracks," Zyontz said. "It was compelling television. And like Joe [Buck] had mentioned earlier [during the conference call] we kind of had a preview of that in our production meeting [with Sherman]. It started crossing over a line that I did not want to see us go. Erin handled it very well, but I kind of said, Let’s end this thing. He’s a good guy, an intelligent guy, an emotional guy and it was very compelling to watch. But it started getting a little dangerous for us."
Sherman was mic'd up for the game. After he forced the decisive Kaepernick interception by tipping away a pass intended for Crabtree, Sherman ran up and offered a handshake to Crabtree while yelling "Hell of a game, hell of a game." Crabtree pushed Sherman away by the face mask.
