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Seahawks WR Doug Baldwin disputes claim of 'savage' Seattle locker room

By The Sports Xchange
Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll and wide receiver Doug Baldwin (89) watch a replay of a 42-yard catch he made in the fourth quarter of in a Wild Card game against the Detroit Lions in the NFL playoffs. Baldwin said the team's locker room is not as "savage" as portrayed in an ESPN article. File photo by Jim Bryant/UPI
Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll and wide receiver Doug Baldwin (89) watch a replay of a 42-yard catch he made in the fourth quarter of in a Wild Card game against the Detroit Lions in the NFL playoffs. Baldwin said the team's locker room is not as "savage" as portrayed in an ESPN article. File photo by Jim Bryant/UPI | License Photo

Seattle wide receiver Doug Baldwin knocked back several assertions made about the team in a piece in ESPN the Magazine about the "savage" nature of the Seahawks locker room.

On an interview with 710 ESPN's "Brock and Salk," Baldwin admitted he did not read the entire article but praised Carroll for the job he has done managing personalities. Reaction in the locker room was subdued.

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"There wasn't much, honestly," Baldwin responded. "It was pretty quiet on the front."

ESPN's Seth Wickersham wrote: "Free agents who sign with the Seahawks are always shocked at how savage the locker room can be, a violence at odds with [Pete] Carroll's laid-back persona."

But Baldwin disputed that claim for the most part. "A savage place? I would say we have savages in that locker room. I don't know if it's a savage place. Our locker room is a very warm and inviting and welcoming place to be at. We're a big family in there. I don't know what he means by a savage environment. We get along, for the most part. But like anybody else, just like any family, you have your fights, you have your disputes, you have your disagreements but at the end of the day, we're all fighting for the same thing."

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The ESPN article suggested that Seahawks star cornerback Richard Sherman has engaged in an ongoing feud with Carroll and quarterback Russell Wilson dating back to the team's loss to the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLIX.

"I think Pete does a fantastic job of handling different individuals differently," Baldwin added. "We all have our different personalities. We all act different ways. And Pete does a fantastic job of accommodating those personalities. He's done it with me. He's done it with Russ, with (Sherman), with (Marshawn Lynch), with all of us. And he does a great job at it."

Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett described the article as "trash" and "all gossip" while Sherman called the idea of ongoing locker room turmoil "nonsense."

Seattle (10-5-1) won the NFC West last season and advanced to the NFC divisional round before losing 36-20 to the eventual NFC champion Atlanta Falcons.

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