On Monday, Doug Baldwin, the wide receiver for the Seattle Seahawks, decided to use an orifice much farther north than the one he pretended to use in Super Bowl XLIX.
Baldwin apologized for simulating going to the toilet by squatting over the football after scoring a touchdown. Baldwin, appearing on “The Barbershop” on 710 ESPN Seattle, said, “I do regret the fact that it cost my team 15 yards, and to the fans, ultimately I apologize to anybody I offended in any way. It wasn’t about that. I just think it was a competitive situation. So to all the 12s, all the fans, that’s not what it’s about. So I apologize to anyone if I offended you.”
Baldwin put the Seahawks ahead, 24-14, when he caught a three-yard TD pass from Russell Wilson with 4:54 left in the third quarter. His taunt, which he later admitted was aimed at New England Patriots cornerback Darrelle Revis, incurred a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and an $11,025 fine from the NFL.
Baldwin continued, “In that moment, it was just a reaction. So obviously if I could go back, I would take it back. I spent a lot of time those two weeks prior to getting ready for that game just focused on my individual matchup with him and I put a lot into it, and in that moment, I guess you could say it was just kind of a built-up frustration I was letting out in that sequence, you know, between him and I. Obviously there was competitive stuff going on in that game, and in that moment, I just let out what I felt personally.”
Baldwin had said a few days after the game, “I was just out there having fun playing the game of football. There’s no explanation. You play this game for so long, you go out there and you have fun. I can get criticized for it, that’s fine, everybody has their opinion, but in the moment I was just having fun. My teammates know that.”
Baldwin added that Revis was “one of the best guys in the league.”