Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman has an amazing response over at Sports Illustrated to all the bogus moralizing about former Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson, who was cut last week for alleged gang ties to members of the Crips. In short, Sherman says that it's ridiculous to think players who grew up in rough neighborhoods with troublesome friends should cut ties with those people once they reach the pros. Rather, he argues that it's better to maintain those relationships and try to "educate them on the right way of doing things" so they can become better people.

But the most salient bit comes when Sherman addresses the blatant racial double standard in the NFL — and really, pro sports in general — when it comes to supposed character flaws. Having been pilloried as a scary black man, an exemplar of "thug culture" for his braggadocio in last year's playoffs, it's an issue Sherman knows intimately. He writes:

Commit certain crimes in this league and be a certain color, and you get help, not scorn. Look at the way many in the media wrote about Jim Irsay after his DUI arrest. Nobody suggested the Colts owner had "ties" to drug trafficking, even though he was caught driving with controlled substances (prescription pills) and $29,000 in cash to do who-knows-what with. Instead, poor millionaire Mr. Irsay needs help, some wrote.

But DeSean Jackson is the menace, right? He's just as bad as those guys he parties with because he threw up a Crip sign in a picture and he owns a gangsta rap record label. If only all record label owners were held to this standard, somebody might realize that Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg weren't the bosses behind NWA. Jim Irsay lookalikes in suits were. [Sports Illustrated]

Give the whole thing a read here. Jon Terbush

George Gaynes, a notable character actor and baritone singer, died Monday in North Bend, Washington. He was 98.

His daughter, Iya Gaynes Falcone Brown, confirmed his death to The New York Times. Born George Jongejans in Helsinki to a Russian mother and Dutch father, Gaynes was raised in France, England, and Switzerland, and enlisted in the Royal Dutch Navy during World War II, Reuters reports. After the war, he moved to the United States, where he changed his last name and joined the New York City Opera.

As an actor, he appeared in 35 films (Tootsie, Just Married) and countless television shows, including Mission: Impossible, Hawaii Five-0, General Hospital, Chicago Hope, and Bonanza. He starred in the 1980s sitcom Punky Brewster, portraying Henry Warnimont, a photographer who ultimately adopts the spunky Punky Brewster after she is abandoned by her mother. He also appeared in all seven Police Academy films as Commandant Lassard. Gaynes retired in 2003. He is survived by his wife, actress Allyn Ann McLerie; his daughter; one granddaughter; and two great-granddaughters. His son, Matthew, died in 1989 in a car accident. Catherine Garcia

Fans of The Simpsons will have the opportunity to ask Homer anything during a special live portion of the May 15th episode.

From May 1 through May 4, people can tweet their questions, using #HomerLive. For the final three minutes of the show, Homer will respond to topical questions in a segment that will air live on both coasts. The episode's theme will revolve around improv comedy, and showrunner Al Jean told The Hollywood Reporter he's excited to see what Dan Castellaneta (the voice of Homer) will do during the live portion. "He's a great improvisor," he said.

Jean said that to his knowledge, this is the first time an animated show is doing something like this. It's going to take months to get the animation ready, he added, with the Simpsons team using motion capture technology to depict Homer talking about things "he could only be saying live on that day." Catherine Garcia

When you're Paul McCartney, every door opens for you — unless it's the entrance to rapper Tyga's Grammy afterparty at Hollywood's Argyle nightclub. In that case, you're denied access while TMZ captures the whole embarrassing affair on camera.

McCartney and pals Beck and Taylor Hawkins of the Foo Fighters are seen on video breezily walking up to the club Monday night, figuring they would be ushered in by the bouncer. The musicians may have more than 30 Grammy Awards between them, but they also had zero invitations to the party, and were not welcomed inside. McCartney took it in stride, jokingly asking, "How VIP do we gotta get?" before turning to his friends and announcing: "We need another hit, guys! Work on it."

Thinking there had to have been some sort of mistake, they tried again, but were rebuffed a second time. Eventually, the trio went to the Republic Records party at Hyde, CBS News reports, where presumably the bouncer knew who was trying to get through the door. Tyga — best known for dating reality star Kylie Jenner — tweeted that he had no idea McCartney and friends weren't allowed in the club: "Why would I deny @PaulMcCartney stop it. He's a legend." He followed up with: "I don't control the door. I had no knowledge SIR PAUL was there. I just performed and left." Questions still abound: Why was Paul McCartney even trying to get into a party thrown by Tyga? Does he know who that is? Did he think it was actually a fundraiser for animals? May we have our answers soon. Catherine Garcia

On Tuesday, a federal judge ruled that Apple must provide federal investigators with "reasonable technical assistance" in accessing encrypted data on an iPhone that belonged to Syed Farook, one of the San Bernardino shooters, court documents say.

Prosecutors said they have been unable to access "relevant, critical" data on the phone because the iPhone is locked and they can't break in. On Dec. 2, Farook and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, killed 14 people at the Inland Regional Center, and prosecutors say the iPhone 5c, issued to Farook by his employer, the San Bernardino County Department of Public Health, could show who the shooters were communicating with before the attack, and if they had any help planning and carrying out the massacre. The judge said Apple must provide assistance like bypassing the auto-erase function and letting investigators send an unlimited amount of passwords to use in trying to unlock the phone.

The phone was found in a Lexus belonging to Farook's family, and investigators say they discovered inside a trash can several other phones belonging to the married couple that they tried to destroy. Apple has five days to respond if it believes compliance would be "unreasonably burdensome," NBC News reports. Catherine Garcia

The Tax Policy Center, a nonpartisan research center, says the tax plan unveiled by Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz in November would cut federal revenues by $8.6 trillion over 10 years, adding significantly to the debt.

Cruz's plan calls for a flat 10 percent individual income tax; repealing the corporate income tax, payroll taxes for Social Security and Medicare, and estate and gift taxes; increasing the standard deduction and getting rid of most other deductions with the exception of charity and mortgage interest; and introducing a 16 percent value-added consumption tax, Reuters reports.

The Tax Policy Center says the value-added tax would only replace 70 percent of the costs of the tax cuts, and the plan in general would "cut taxes at most income levels, although the highest-income households would benefit the most and the poor the least." The center's analysis finds that taxpayers with incomes over $3.7 million would see an average cut of almost 29 percent, while "households in the middle of the income distribution would receive an average tax cut of $1,800, or 3.2 percent of after-tax income, while taxpayers in the lowest quintile would receive an average tax cut of $46, or 0.4 percent of after-tax income." Catherine Garcia

One person who is convinced Donald Trump will never be elected president of the United States is the man who currently holds the office.

"I continue to believe Mr. Trump will not be president," President Obama said Tuesday during a news conference. "And the reason is that I have a lot of faith in the American people. Being president is a serious job. It's not hosting a talk show, or a reality show. It's not promotion, it's not marketing. It's hard. And a lot of people count on us getting it right."

As president, Obama said, you have to make difficult decisions that not everyone will like, and not do things just for publicity. "It requires being able to work with leaders around the world in a way that reflects the importance of the office and gives people confidence that you know the facts and you know their names and you know where they are on a map and you know something about their history," he added. Catherine Garcia

President Obama said he expects the Senate to vote on his forthcoming nomination to replace Justice Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court.

"There is more than enough time for the Senate to consider, in a thoughtful way, the record of the nominee I present and to make a decision," he said in a news conference Tuesday.

Obama repeated that he'll nominate someone "in due time," and that he's "amused" when conservative politicians who claim to strictly follow the Constitution suggest that Supreme Court nominations should only happen during non-election years.

"I'm going to present someone that indisputably is qualified for the seat and any fair-minded person, even someone who disagreed with my politics, would say would serve with honor and integrity on the court," Obama said.

Watch his news conference below. Julie Kliegman