Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman held a press conference on Wednesday afternoon in which he addressed issues stemming from the interview he gave Fox’s Erin Andrews immediately following the NFC Championship game, an interview in which he loudly called out 49ers wide receiver Michael Crabtree as a “sorry receiver.”

In the press conference, Sherman said he was sorry the interview had taken attention away from his teammates, but he also said he didn’t believe the response to it was warranted, especially people who labeled him a “thug” after the interview. He also said he believed “thug” is now an “accepted way of calling somebody the n word.”

Sherman went on to reference a recent NHL game between the Vancouver Canucks and the Calgary Flames in which a line brawl occurred just seconds into the game.

From the press conference:

“There was a hockey game where they didn’t even play hockey. They just threw the puck aside and started fighting. I saw that and I’m like, ‘Wait, I’m the thug? What’s going on here?’ So, I’m really disappointed in being called a thug.”

Elsewhere in the press conference, Sherman spoke about preparing for Peyton Manning, who he compared to having an offensive coordinator out on the field.