Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman took the NFL to task on Thursday for its crackdown on celebrations and its policy on domestic violence, advocating for commissioner Roger Goodell to give up some of his power.
"I think if the NFL had its way, we would all be robots," Sherman wrote in a column for The Players' Tribune. "We would all be perfect human beings off the field so that the league would never have to deal with another [public relations] nightmare and everybody would smile and nod and hand the ball over to the official after a touchdown or a big play."
Sherman argued that the league is trying to legislate emotion out of the game and said that's been partly responsible for a decline in fan interest.
Sherman also shared his thoughts on the way the NFL handled the Josh Brown situation.
"While it's difficult to apply discipline in cases of domestic violence, it's impossible to do so when there is no clear policy or standard, which the league does not have," Sherman wrote.
"The reality is that the league says that there is no place for domestic violence in the NFL. Its actions in the most recent cases, however, simply haven't reflected that. This is just another reason why players don't have a lot of trust in the league. The league says one thing -- like how seriously it takes domestic violence -- but when it comes time to act, it does another."
Sherman suggested that a panel of former players and coaches be appointed to handle issues from domestic violence to fines and suspensions.
"The commissioner simply has too much power," he wrote.