"DRAMA-QUEENISH!!"
This is my favorites segment of what I've seen on the Sheldon Richardson-Brandon Marshall.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9w28vkAHxU&t=88
First 4 minutes has the relevant content.
Backstory 1: Sheldon Richardson did some REALLY DUMB stuff a couple years ago.
Backstory 2: Brandon Marshall has publicly come out as having Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD).
First, my kudos to Brandon Marshall for coming out as having BPD. Many have it, few, almost none, have the courage to come out. Massive respect and props to the man on that, for the good he is doing for others on that. Too deep a subject to expound on here.
Second, BPDs are, pretty much by nature, DRAMA QUEENS. It's part of who they are, it's how they roll through life. They can also be a little narcissistic at times, and one trait that you might notice in their verbal behaviors, is that they tend to BLAME OTHERS, and nearly everything is EVERYBODY ELSE'S FAULT. It's not really a behavior they have a lot of control of; it's a story they make up in their own mind, that someone else is responsible, that comes with the condition. For example, it would be RARE for you to receive a sincere apology from a BPD; after all, the problem they are experiencing is somebody else's fault, so why should they apologize when it's your actions or even your intentions, that are the actual problem, to them?
So, after a pathetic losing game, say, a 41-3 Jets loss to the Patriots, lets say, hypothetically, Marshall launches into a locker room tirade where he rips everybody a new one, except himself, because of course, he was holding down the fort single-handledly, and if only the other screwups on the team would have done their job, his brilliance would have been allowed to shine and almost single-handedly win the game with key plays. A no-nonsense person, like a DT who played his ass off on every down, regardless of score, listening to a BPD carry on in this way, would get tired of it quickly and tell the BPD to shut his mouth and look at his own failings and focus on his own game instead of confessing everyone else's shortcomings.
I always wondered why Pete and John didn't pursue signing Brandon Marshall, but if Marshall in fact DID have a reputation for this kind of tirade blaming everyone else, it would be an absolute cultural FAIL in Seattle. He'd instantly have Sherman, Bennett, Kam, Baldwin, (and Marshawn when here) and others, get in his face and tell him to work on his own game, get his own house in order, before dogging others. Probably with a few expletives mixed in. It would be Percy Harvin all over again if Marshall was brought here and then did that kind of stuff in Seattle.
And yes, Richardson did some REALLY DUMB stuff a couple years ago. No doubt Marshall took a few opportunities to rub Richardson's nose in it over and over. I'd hope, over the past couple years, Richardson has done his work and learned his lesson.
I also suspect the Seahawks have an extensive non-football "counseling" operation is quietly pretty much the best in the NFL. I suspect the Seahawks have numerous psych pros on staff who do routinely do psych profiles on players the Seahawks are considering acquiring. They F'ed up with Harvin big time, or, more likely, were overruled by Pete/asked to do their best with Harvin, as a special favor to a drooling Pete who saw Harvin as a key missing piece to get to the Super Bowl. I believe the Harvin fiasco may have educated Pete, in particular, and John Schneider, on personality disorders, and how to tell them apart from "troubled young man from a bad background", which can be worked with, vs. personality disorders and psych conditions, which are far less amenable to a good outcome. The Seahawks have a history of successes with other "troubled" young men, Bruce Irvin being perhaps a good case in point.
SUMMARY/CONCLUSIONS:
Richardson is a fairly normal guy, in terms of personal issues, from the Seahawks perspective. He is NOT a Percy Harvin type of situation. The Seahawks organization, and Pete Carroll, have been historically excellent at working with young men previous off-field issues and turning them into not only productive NFL players but positive influences in the community. You can expect the Seahawks player evaluation staff have done extensive psych profiles on Richardson and the overall situation and gave a green light for him to do well, even exceptionally well, in the Seahawks/Pete Carroll environment and culture. Sheldon Richardson will be closer to a Marshawn Lynch, "all about that action, boss" in the Seattle locker room, and not at all like a Brandon Marshall or Percy Harvin type of personality. He'll be a solid fit here, do his job 100% on pretty much every play, and, ball out in this, his contract year.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
Go to Vegas NOW and bet $1000 or more on the Seahawks to win the Superb Owl, before Vegas adjusts their line. If we lose to the Packers in game 1, immediately go back to Vegas and DOUBLE DOWN on that original $1000 bet. When the Seahawks play the Patriots for all the marbles, this time, instead of zinging short passes and eventually, TDs to Edelman and Amendola, Brady will INSTEAD consistently be ON HIS ASS in the arms of Richardson, Bennett, Avril, Clark, and yes, also David Bass. You heard the David Bass part here first, folks.
FURTHER READING
If you want to know more about BPD and how a person with BPD can affect those around them, google the term, "BPD Stop Walking On Eggshells" and browse through the hits.
What are my qualifications to write this? Well, if you insist on relying on "academic experts", please go find a degreed and licensed professional for any and all information and ignore anything I say unless officially blessed by your experts, and the top expert in the world is in the Seattle area*. In real life experience, I've dealt with an NPD in a high conflict divorce, had decades of dealing with a BPD wicked stepmother, dated ex-partners of BPDs and NPDs (long story, and their stories of life with an NPD/BPD are mind-boggling) and rented to numerous ex-partners of BPD in a property management context. (Also many mind-boggling stories, and those abused ex-partners are uniformly awesome tenants, BTW) A few years back, I somehow became engaged to a woman I realized had BPD (and pervasive sociopathic traits to boot), and that was an *extremely* educational experience. I was fortunate to escape that situation without major loss of (my) life, liberty, and property.
So, I've wound up having extensive, long-term interactions, over decades, with individuals with BPD and NPD and their ex-partners. Seeing and experiencing, the BPD/NPD playbook repeatedly, plus experiences others shared with me, showed me that BPDs and NPDs follow patterns of thought and action that explain their behaviors, and function as a "playbook" in a very real way. They typically run the same plays time after time, because the plays** "work", at least the first time, on 95% of people, previously including me, to get the BPD or NPD what they want. After a while, some people start wising and recognizing the plays, comparing notes with others, and that's when things really get interesting, like with Richardson getting tired of Marshall's blaming tirades.
* For example, BPD world-class expert Marsha Linehan, PhD, is based in the Seattle area and is employed by the UW. She developed the breakthrough "Dialectical Behavioral Therapy" (DBT) that is considered a current best practtice in the BPD treatment field. Look her up on Wikipedia. He consulting time may not be free. I wouldn't be surprised if she, or one/several professionals trained by her, consult with the Seahawks.
** An example of a typical "play" is for the BPD to leave a social group (or team) who has wised up to their lies, exaggerations, and manipulations, and go to a NEW social group (or team) and present themselves as a "victim" of their "abusive" former social group, and elicit the sympathy of the new group. They are master "storytellers" of false stories they present as truth, and can tell them with utterly convincing nonverbals, because they have talked themselves into believing their own false reality. Anyway, the typical result is, the new social group takes pity on them, gives them more support than they would otherwise get, and hates and shuns anyone from the person's former group. This has the effect of preventing communication between the old group and the new group, and prevents people from comparing their stories and finding the discrepancies and falsehoods.