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Richard Sherman floats conspiracy theory on why he was flagged for pass interference 3 times

Richard Sherman drew three pass interference penalties on Sunday.

He believes NFL officials are targeting him.

They all arrived in the first half of the San Francisco 49ers36-26 win over the Arizona Cardinals.

Rare successful PI challenge

One of them arrived via replay review. Sherman wasn’t flagged on the field for interference, but officials reviewed the play on a challenge and determined that he hit Cardinals receiver Christian Kirk prior to a pass arriving and overturned the no-call on the field.

Anybody who’s watched the NFL this season recognizes that a successful pass interference replay challenge is the rarest sight in football.

Sherman: Calls against him are ‘interesting’

And Sherman has a theory on why he drew that flag and two others on Sunday — officials are out to get him because he’s a member of the NFL Players Association’s Executive Committee. He explained the theory in a postgame news conference.

“I had three penalties on the season coming into this game, and to get three in a half is really interesting, especially with the way that the reversals have gone,” Sherman said. “I think there’s been probably over 100 PI challenges this year, and there’s been five, I think, reversals. And I’m two of them. I think being an E.C. member and part of that committee has its perks, and then it has its conversations where you’re the only one who gets overturned.”

Sherman’s right that the successful pass interference challenge is an oddity. But his complaint’s not likely to be met with a sympathetic ear from a league that frowns on criticism of its officials.

Richard Sherman believes officials are targeting him because of his role in the players union. (Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
Richard Sherman believes officials are targeting him because of his role in the players union. (Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

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