Richard Sherman talks protests, NFL’s response, Kaepernick
The ongoing discussion about racism and police brutality has been happening for years and resurfaced when Colin Kaepernick began kneeling during the national anthem in 2016. But the discourse has reached a new level in light of protests surrounding the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers. The protests have encouraged 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman.
“I don’t remember it being this strong of an impact and it reaching this many people and this many people being upset and emotional about it,” Sherman said in a video conference call Wednesday.
Sherman, of course, is one of the NFL’s most outspoken players on social issues, and spent much of Wednesday’s 20-minute Zoom session answering questions about the racial climate and the NFL’s messaging surrounding protests spurred by the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police on Memorial Day.
Sherman said the reaction to the discussion about race is taking a different tone this time around.
“The way the world has been,” Sherman said, “even in 2016 and 2017 when those guys were making it about police brutality and just changing the inequities that we live in as African Americans, they found a way to dull down that message and to divert it and make it about something else in a way to avoid the conversation. And I think this time, it’s too full-fledged and most people are actually getting the messaging and seeing it first-hand. Nobody can turn their eyes away.”
That includes the NFL, who released a video last week with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell saying he supports the ongoing protests and Black Lives Matter movement. That comes in stark contrast to how the league handled Kaepernick’s protest in 2016 and the league-wide movement in 2017 spurred by President Trump calling any player that knelt a “son of a bitch.”
Sherman is hopeful the league will continue to take the right steps against racism and police brutality following the release of last week’s video. But it will take more than making videos that go viral on social media.
Sherman mentioned the lack of African Americans in positions of power throughout the NFL. There are currently only three black head coaches and two black general managers despite 70 percent of the league’s players being black.
“That would go a long way,” Sherman said. “They have tried their best to throw money behind it for a long time. And it takes more than that. It takes you literally calling out bigotry and being motivated and not just letting it be a fad and fleeting and being consistent year in and year out that you’re combating this issue and that this is a problem that needs to change and not just this year, not just 2016, not just 2017 but black lives matter, they have to matter forever. They have to matter every year.”
49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said last week the team has had meetings team-wide and with the leadership council about race and what the organization could do to support creating change.
Shanahan became one of the most outspoken coaches against racism with his strong words last week which garnered a slew of positive responses from players on social media.
“People need to know, just because you don’t see it, doesn’t mean it’s not there,” Shanahan said. “And white people have to acknowledge that this is a fact, this isn’t debatable. And there’s nothing more apparent than what happens, numbers wise, with black people and what’s going on with the police force.”
Added Sherman: “It’s great to just see how much they care, how much Kyle and John and (49ers president Paraag Marathe), this organization, Jed, care about these issues. And a lot has been made about them throwing money at the issue. But I think there’s a lot more at the foundational level that has been done by not only our coaching staff but our players, our front office, our ownership, to really make a difference and make a change in this world. And I think there was growth in that conversation.”
Sherman was also asked about Kaepernick, who may have more support now than he did in 2016, though it remains to be seen if he’ll sign with a team to be on the field for the first time since he opted out of his 49ers contract in 2017.
Sherman has long said that Kaepernick deserves to be employed because his resume speaks for itself.
“The NFL is a PR machine and they know how to construe the messaging to get their point across and to appease and pacify the public without overstepping what they consider their moral high ground and stepping off of that pedestal. That’s the unfortunate part,” Sherman said.
“... I can want him to have a job and I can think he deserves a job as much as anybody and everybody has said it who has said anything. Because he was a good player. He showed he could play in this league. He could play at the highest level so he deserves a job but in order to answer those questions, I would have to be one of the decision makers who didn’t give him a job and I’m not that person. I think that until those people are asked those difficult questions, we’ll never get the answers.”
NFL sets uniform report date, considering shortening preseason
There were some notable changes discussed Wednesday regarding scheduling for the return to football later this summer.
First, the NFL decided to make July 28 the uniform report date to training camp for 28 of the 32 teams, as first reported by ESPN. The 49ers would be included in that bunch. The remaining four teams -- the Chiefs, Texans, Cowboys and Steelers -- will report at different dates because Kansas City and Houston are scheduled to open the season Thursday night, Sept. 10.
Dallas and Pittsburgh will report July 22 because they’re slated to play in the Hall of Fame game to open the preseason Aug. 6.
However, the league is also considering shortening the preseason from four games to two, according to an NFL Network report, to allow for teams to have a longer ramp-up period following the cancellation of on-field work throughout the offseason.
There’s a feeling it’s not in the team’s best interest to be on the field in live situations after all the time off the field this offseason and it remains to be seen if COVID-19 restrictions throughout the country will be lifted in time to play those first two exhibition contests.
The 49ers could lose preseason games at Denver Aug. 15 before hosting the Raiders Aug. 21. Third and fourth preseason games are scheduled at Chicago Aug. 29 and hosting the Chargers Sept. 3 at Levi’s Stadium.
This story was originally published June 10, 2020 at 2:27 PM.
