Ricardo Lockette credits Russell Wilson for Seahawks overcoming Super Bowl interception

Ricardo Lockette had one of the best views of “the pass” that cost Seattle its second championship. The Seahawks receiver also had one of the hardest times getting over the play. That is, until Russell Wilson veered he and some other players to a cliff in Hawaii.

“That was the day that I got over it,” Lockette told 710 ESPN’s “Danny, Dave and Moore” on Thursday. “That was the day I think our entire team got over it.”

Lockette was the intended receiver when New England’s Malcolm Butler stepped in front at the goal line with 24 seconds left, making the most memorable Super Bowl interception of all-time and securing the Patriots’ improbable win.

In July, Lockette wrote a first-person account of his inability to re-watch the play and get over the sting of the loss in The Players’ Tribune. He said Thursday that his teammates rallied around him, repeatedly telling him that it was not his fault, and that the experience made him a better player and person.

“I don’t think there’s too many things that I can go through that can take me to such a low level, and I have to pull myself out of that,” he said. “…What do you do as a person if something really tragic happens in your life? How do you react? That shows your character and what type of person you are.”

Before Lockette came to that kind of peace, though, he and the other Seahawks were still mumbling about the play during an offseason trip in Hawaii.

Wilson has been criticized for saying God spoke to him immediately following the interception, telling him that it was a test to see how the he, and the world, would respond. But Lockette said it was the quarterback who changed the teammates’ outlook by orchestrating a surprise stop in Maui.

“We were supposed to go to practice,” Lockette said, “but then we turned off and veered off to this dirt road. And everybody’s looking around like, ‘Where are we going?'”

The bus eventually stopped at the top of a hill, at a cliff overlooking the ocean.

“And Russell’s like, ‘OK, we got a surprise, everyone off the bus, player’s only,'” Lockette said. “…We were looking out the window, like “Should we get off?” We’re in the middle of nowhere.”

In the secluded paradise, with no cameras in sight, Lockette said Wilson opened the floor to discussion.

“That was a time you could be really just be open and no one was judging each other,” Lockette said. “And I feel like we got really closer, because, you know, some tears were shed, there was some yelling, there was some understanding, but at the end, it was family. And whatever your emotion was, you got that off your chest.”

In the Tribune, Lockette wrote that Wilson looked at him and said, “We’re going to get back there, and if we’re in that same position again, I’m going to throw you the ball again. We’re going to get it done. I trust you.”

After the discussion, Lockette said the players “threw it all off the cliff” and moved forward.

“There’s nothing else to talk about with that,” he said.

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