What does 49ers’ Sherman say about protests, season?
Richard Sherman doesn’t expect players’ passions to wane over racial equality once the NFL season starts, or once he and his San Francisco 49ers teammates report for training came in late July.
What he wants to happen on an NFL level, however, will have to wait until next offseason, and the one after that and beyond.
“Having some people of color represented in the general manager space, the front office space, obviously head coaches, that would go a long way,” Sherman said on a video call with media Wednesday. “They’ve tried their best tor throw money behind it for a long time. It takes more than that.
“It takes you calling out bigotry and being motivated. It’s not just pleading. It’s being consistent year in and year out that this is a problem that has to change. … Black lives matter, every year, every day.”
Sherman, a vice president on the NFL Players Association’s executive committee, is encourage by how strong and widespread protests have been across the country this month. It’s a much different look than the NFLdriven protests Colin Kaepernick began in 2016.
“In 2016 and ’17, when those guys were talking about inequities, they (opponents) found a way to divert the message to avoid the conversation,” Sherman added. “This time it’s too full-fledged and everybody is getting the message first hand and can’t turn their eyes away from it. Any human with empathy would feel that strong.”
Sherman expects players to use their platforms on social media and at gameday press conferences to “fight the good fight” in this
“time for change.” His platform Wednesday featured him driving his kids while answering reporters’ questions for some 30 minutes. Other topics covered:
ON COLIN KAEPERNICK » As for whether that could trigger Kaepernick’s NFL return from a three-season absence, Sherman aptly noted that while he believes the outcast quarterback is good enough to return, it ultimately is up to team owners to employ Kaepernick.
When NFL commissioner Roger Goodell did not mention Kaepernick by name in a video last week acknowledging racial inequities and the league’s poor handling of protests in the past, Sherman was not surprised. “That’s the thing, the NFL is a PR machine and knows how to construe the message to get their point across without overstepping what they call their moral high ground,” Sherman added.
ON ADVISING WHITE FRIENDS » Sherman said he hasn’t been besieged by white friends seeking advice on changing race relations. “A lot of times those people aren’t the problem but they have friends and family who speak a certain way, are bigoted
and feel some are inferior because of the color of their skin,” Sherman said.
“A lot of times, preconceived judgment is a detriment to all. I talk to them about having that growth and difficult conversations. That helps more than anything. This has been going on for 400 years and we’re probably the only country that has such an awful, dark stain that they don’t want to talk about it.
“I don’t think I’d be able to explain the depth and pain and inequity in a few hours, so I keep it as simple as I can.”
ON COVID-19 CONCERNS » Players have not asked questions about the health protocol so much as a timeline for their possible return. The 49ers haven’t been together since after their Super Bowl loss in February, and July 28 is the expected start date of NFL training camps. No matter how much the NFL puts safeguards in place to minimize risk, Sherman noted: “At the end of the day, football is footbll. No matter how much you keep 90 guys away from each other, they’ll run into each other and it will be what it will be.”