Richard Sherman Weighs Playing in 2nd Super Bowl against Attending Birth of 1st Son

Richard Sherman doesn’t know if his unborn son will emerge from the womb to watch him play football on Sunday. He does know he wants to watch his unborn son play football on future Sundays.

“Oh, 100 percent,” the Seahawks defensive back says of his son playing football. “Football probably will be the first or second sport he plays. People talk about the negative aspects of football, but there also are a lot of positives you learn as a kid. I don’t know many 7- and 8-year-olds in Pop Warner are running into each other full speed and getting concussions. Kids aren’t brave enough at that age.”

Sherman continued that “football teaches you discipline and helps you develop a sense of leadership and courage and camaraderie with your friends and teammates. It shows you how to work with a group and how to depend on one another, how to trust someone to do their jobs and how to be dependable in your job. These are things you learn that are essential throughout your life.”

The All Pro cornerback faces a possible dilemma on Sunday: play in his second Super Bowl or attend the birth of his first son. Sherman and his girlfriend expect the arrival of their first child in the coming week.

“He’s not supposed to come Sunday,” Sherman told reporters Thursday. “Obviously that’d change some things. But I think he’s going to be a disciplined young man and stay in there until after the game.”

Several athletes, including Daniel Murphy of the New York Mets, faced criticism for leaving the playing field for a maternity ward.

“He’s gonna do his father his first favor and stay in there for another week or two, but I’ve thought about the possibility of him coming during the game and coming before the game and we have things in place in case that happens,” Sherman reveals. “And, you know, we’ll cross that bridge when we get there…. I obviously did not know it was a topic of national debate, honestly. You know, I’d not like to miss the birth of my first son, my first kid, but, you know, thankfully and hopefully and God willing we won’t have to cross that bridge.”