SEATTLE NEWS ARCHIVES & FEATURES

When Richard Sherman has a point, it’s worth listening

Sep 21, 2017, 1:32 PM | Updated: 3:30 pm

Richard Sherman...

Richard Sherman. (AP Photo/Kelvin Kuo)

(AP Photo/Kelvin Kuo)

Love him or leave him, when Richard Sherman has a point, he has a point.

His latest comments on injury reports caught my attention.

I guess from what I understand the rules is for the gamblers, for Vegas, to make sure the odds and everything are what they are supposed to be, which is apparently what the league is concerned about when talking about injuries and things like that. So maybe somebody should look into that, because I thought we weren’t a gambling league and we were against all those things. But our injury report is specifically to make sure the gamblers get their odds right.

RELATED: Did you catch the NFL making history?

Why on earth do we still pretend that people don’t like to gamble? The hypocrisy of Washington state on this topic is just breathtaking.

Let’s start with what number 25 is talking about.

In Washington state, you cannot legally place a bet on a sports team or a fantasy game online. So while millions of Americans can go online and play a fantasy lineup for as little as a dollar, Washington state has made that online wager a felony.

To put that in perspective, alleged pedophile Ed Murray only committed a misdemeanor when he allegedly had sexual contact with 13-year-olds multiple times.

Betting $5 that you think Tom Brady will throw more touchdowns than Russell Wilson is somehow worse that that? Give me a break.

Now, if we widen this out further. I can go to my local casino and enter a poker tournament for $100, or $500 for that matter. But if I want to play a tournament online for $.50, I’m committing a felony.

Does that make any sense?

What about gambling addiction, Ron? Think about the kids.

Yes, there will be a small percentage of people who can’t control themselves. The same way there are people who drink too much alcohol or smoke too much pot. But Washington state doesn’t make drinking at home a felony.

What are we talking about here?

The way Washington state treats gambling is the biggest political smoke job I’ve ever seen.

Lotto tickets, Powerball, Mega Millions, bingo parlors, pull tabs, Indian gaming casinos, and horse racing? Oh, those are all just fine.

Fantasy football, online poker, or betting on sports – you’re a felon!

You think that anyone from the first list ever made campaign contributions to the candidates who wrote that felony law? Hmm … I wonder.

Associated Press

Americans rewire their grocery shopping routines while digesting the biggest price jump in 50 years

What’s for dinner? Lately, at Apral Jack’s house, it’s whatever is on sale. Jack, 50, scouts an app for deals at her local supermarket before she buys groceries. When she reaches the store, she looks in the weekly circular for coupons she might have missed. If shelf prices look too high, she tries to find […]

44 minutes ago

Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, right, welcomes United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres...

Associated Press

U.N. chief urges international community to back Syrians during visit to Damascus

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres appealed to the international community Saturday to support the people in Syria at the start of his first visit to the Arab country as U.N. chief, nearly two years after the fall of Bashar Assad. Guterres ‘ visit is the first by a UN secretary-general to the […]

58 minutes ago

Associated Press

Iran reports no new U.S. strikes as tensions remain high

CAIRO (AP) — Iran reported no strikes overnight into Saturday, an apparent break from nearly two weeks of consecutive nights of U.S. attacks, but tensions remain high following a recent escalation over control of the strategic Strait of Hormuz. Iranian Health Ministry spokesperson Hossein Kermanpour posted on X, saying that “Iran had a peaceful night,” […]

2 hours ago

Elizabeth Martínez pushes a shopping cart through a grocery store aisle on Thursday, July 2, 2026,...

Associated Press

The ‘rockets and feathers’ effect: Inflation eases but grocery bills do not

Economics has a term for what U.S. grocery prices have done in recent years: rockets and feathers. Rockets, because the cost of food eaten at home zoomed up in the aftermath of the pandemic. Feathers, because once prices rise, they’re slow to come down. That’s been frustrating for Americans hit with the sharpest increase in […]

2 hours ago

Associated Press

Americans rewire their grocery shopping routines while digesting the biggest price jump in 50 years

What’s for dinner? Lately, at Apral Jack’s house, it’s whatever is on sale. Jack scouts an app for deals at her local supermarket before she buys groceries. When she reaches the store, she grabs the weekly circular to look for coupons she might have missed. If the shelf prices look too high, she scratches items […]

2 hours ago

Associated Press

Wildfire leads to evacuations in some suburbs of the French city of Bordeaux

ARCACHON, France (AP) — Authorities in France are evacuating some suburbs of Bordeaux because of a massive and shifting wildfire to the west of the city famous for its wines. The prefect of the Gironde region that includes Bordeaux ordered the evacuation in the early hours of Saturday, covering parts of three of the city’s […]

4 hours ago

When Richard Sherman has a point, it’s worth listening