While we can't fully understand what goes on in the locker room without being in it, I have a feeling that the rift is real but the cause is misunderstood. What I mean is, I don't think XLIX is why there is a contingent of players in Seattle that don't like Russell. It's my opinion that the Type A personalities on the team, particularly on Defense, don't respect Russell as a leader because of his personality and leadership style. I've been around guys like Russell, or what I percieve he's like since we only know the public version of him, in both the military and in commercial diving. Russell acts like a politician and seems to be more focused on his public image and who the media thinks he is rather than responsibly charting a championship course for his team. Sure, Russell wants to win Superbowls just like everybody else, but he presents himself as someone who has more than one priority. I think he's positioned himself to win, so to speak, even if the team doesn't and the players see it. I can speak from experience that when your positional "leader" is someone like that, the followers won't follow and they will then turn to the real leader in the group for direction. As it pertains to this situation, that leader is Richard Sherman and what we're publicly seeing is a reflection of it. I think Russell Wilson has a weak personality and a weak leadership style that has predictably resulted in a feeling of resentment within a group of players that don't respect him. I've lived that situation more than once and everything I've seen in the media and heard back channel remind me of it. I hope I'm wrong and/or Russell changes his appproach to leadership before it's too late.
