After Richard Sherman’s post-game rant yesterday, after defeating the San Francisco 49ers, quarterback Tom Brady has spoken out to criticize him.

In an interview on the “Dennis & Callahan” show he said that he wasn’t surprised at Sherman trash talking after the game, but it’s something he nor his team would ever do. “I don’t know him at all,” said Brady. “I’ve watched him play. He’s that kind of guy. So, you know, I approach the game, and I have respect for my opponents. That’s the way our team plays. We win with graciousness, and when we lose, we could do better. Some teams don’t always do that, or that’s not their program.”

And nearly 24-hours after the rant, Sherman told MMBQ that people shouldn’t confuse his on-the-field passion with being angry or bitter, and that his trash-talking-football-persona isn’t the entire person he is.

“It was loud, it was in the moment, and it was just a small part of the person I am,” he said. “I don’t want to be a villain, because I’m not a villainous person. When I say I’m the best cornerback in football, it’s with a caveat: There isn’t a great defensive backfield in the NFL that doesn’t have a great front seven. Everything begins with the pressure up front, and that’s what we get from our pass rushers every Sunday.”

Sherman also says that before demonizing him and labeling him a bad person, people should look at what he does off the field for his family and his community.

“To those who would call me a thug or worse because I show passion on a football field, don’t judge a person’s character by what they do between the lines,” he said. “Judge a man by what he does off the field, what he does for his community, what he does for his family.”

Image via Wikimedia Commons