Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman said Thursday morning on "NFL AM" that he did not mean that "half the league" was taking Adderall, as he was quoted by the Vancouver Sun.
An athlete claiming he was misquoted or his words were taken out of context is a familiar excuse, so forgive us if we were skeptical of Sherman's declaration.
While Sherman uttered the phrase "half the league takes it," he was referring to a reporter's direct statement about players who have prescriptions for Adderall to treat their attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Sherman was not talking about players using it illegally, as the original story suggested.
Vancouver Sun reporter Mike Beamish provided Around The League with a transcript of his interview with Sherman from which the quote was taken:
Beamish: "There are players who actually have to take Adderall, because people have ADD and ADHD."
Sherman: "There's about half the league that takes it, and the league has to allow it."
Beamish: "It's like you have a prescription, if you're a diabetic."
Sherman: "Exactly."
Beamish: "So, are you on any medication that way?"
Sherman: "I'm not. But there are players that took it. We all got tested on the same day. There was kind of a little mix-up with that."
Beamish wrote in an email to NFL.com that it was clear Sherman was saying "half the league" in the same vein people say "everybody cheats on their taxes."
Beamish, to his credit, provided this transcript when he could have ignored the inquiry.
We'll make sure we take Sherman's word as gospel from here on out. Maybe. Possibly. Ummm ...
UPDATE: Sherman later took to Twitter to express his frustration over being misquoted:
Follow Kevin Patra on Twitter @kpatra.