Cliff Avril dismisses story of Seahawks’ locker room divide as ‘fake news’

Another Seattle Seahawk has come out against reports of a locker room divide between Russell Wilson and Richard Sherman.

Defensive lineman Cliff Avril, appearing on the “NFL No Huddle” podcast, dubbed the report “fake news” — while also admitting that there’s some natural tension within the room all the time.

“I think it’s all fake news. I think it’s all dead. It was a dead period so people needed something to talk about,” Avril said, via Sean Wagner-McGough of CBS Sports. “But at the same time too, let’s be honest, it’s 90 guys in the locker room right now. There is no way that 90 guys are going to always get along. That’s just what it is. I’m pretty sure there are people at your job right now that’s way less than 90 that don’t get along. That’s just part of it.

“Now as far as it being Russ and Sherm or Russ and whoever, I don’t think that’s true. I’ve never had any issues with Russ. I don’t think anybody has issues with Russ. We all want the best for Russ, and Russ wants the best for us. That’s the only way we are going to succeed. I haven’t seen it. I don’t know what they are referring to. Maybe they know something that I don’t know. I don’t know.”

Everyone in the locker room who has spoken on the record about the report of Wilson being resented due to perceived preferential treatment has denied it strongly. What else are they going to do? They certainly won’t confirm it — and it’s interesting that, despite Avril’s initially full-throated denial, he admits that tension is natural and doesn’t close the door on the situation being portrayed accurately.