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.

A reporter photographs a display showing people accused of illegally voting during a news conferenc...

Associated Press

Justice Department urges sanctions for database analysis critical of its noncitizen voting claims

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department on Sunday defended the accuracy of a list of what it says are more than 20,000 suspected noncitizens registered to vote in California and suggested that a federal judge consider whether an immigrant rights group and its lawyers should face contempt charges after they published an analysis of the […]

3 hours ago

A sign explaining the restoration work at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool is displayed on a fe...

Associated Press

Trump signals he’ll give closing election pitch at the Reflecting Pool, a revamp plagued by problems

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump signaled Sunday that he’ll make his closing pitch of the midterm elections at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, pushing his slow, expensive and problem-plagued efforts to repair it back into the spotlight as Election Day looms. In comments to reporters as he deplaned from Air Force One for a […]

5 hours ago

The aftermath of a suspected DUI crash on I-5 near the Kent/Des Moines exit Sunday morning. (Photo:...

Tom Brock

Another State Patrol Car Hit on I-5, Renewing Calls to ‘Move Over’

On Sunday morning, an officer was responding to a disabled, blocking vehicle on southbound I-5 near the Kent Des Moines Exit when a car slammed into his patrol car.

5 hours ago

Associated Press

Business jet carrying 9 people crashed in a Florida neighborhood, erupting in a massive fireball.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — A business jet carrying 9 people crashed in a Florida neighborhood Sunday, erupting in a massive fireball. The Learjet 60 was carrying nine people when it crashed in a residential area in Florida’s Palm Beach County, federal officials said. The Bahamas-bound jet departed from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas, […]

6 hours ago

Michigan Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers speaks alongside Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., righ...

Associated Press

The Latest: Democrat who lost Michigan Senate primary backs Republican in general election contest

Michigan Democrat Abdul El-Sayed’s former opponent in the U.S. Senate primary, Haley Stevens, stunned party officials on Sunday by endorsing Republican Mike Rogers in the general election contest after Democratic tensions boiled over. The move came after Stevens was uninvited to a joint event the same day with El-Sayed as he campaigned for the Michigan […]

6 hours ago

Pickup trucks are submerged along Highway 160 in South Fork, Colo., on Friday, Oct. 23, 2026. (Sout...

Associated Press

Flash floods trigger evacuations in Arizona and Colorado amid heavy rains in southwest

SEDONA, Ariz. (AP) — Flash flooding prompted mandatory evacuation orders in parts of the Southwest on Sunday as heavy rains in the normally arid region have already brought deadly flooding this fall. Officials in the tourist destination of Sedona, Arizona, ordered residents in areas near Oak Creek to leave immediately as flood waters were rising […]

7 hours ago

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