Richard Sherman on Systemic Racism in America
On Wednesday, 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman spoke at length on a video conference about systemic racism in the America.
Sherman is the voice of the 49ers -- what he says carries as much weight as John Lynch. Sherman is one of the most mature, bright football players I've ever met. And what he said Wednesday about racism was brilliant and on point.
Here's what he said:
Q: Do you see that there has been a major change in the country, and what is your hope for what will come out of this?
SHERMAN: "I can't predict, honestly. Since I've been alive, 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. The way they world has been, even in 2016 and 2017 when those guys were making it about police brutality and the inequities we live with as African Americans, they found a way to dull down that message and divert it and make it about something else as a way to avoid the conversation.
"And I think this time, it's too full-fledged, and people are actually getting the message and seeing it firsthand. Nobody can turn their eyes away. Nobody can turn away from what they're seeing. Any human with any true empathy in them for their fellow human being would feel that strongly. That's why sometimes you sit there and, to make the point to people who don't get it, you'd have to try to take yourself out of seeing that as a random stranger, and see that as one of your brothers, your sisters, your cousins, your mom or your dad. And then that feeling should energize you to add yourself to the fight. And I think that's why I think this will last a lot longer and the impact will be greater."
Q: What do you think of the NFL's response and Roger Goodell's video that came out last week, and what does the league need to do going forward to reinforce that message and not seem like it's taking advantage of an opportunity?
SHERMAN: "Having some people of color represented in the general-manager space, the front-office space, obviously head coaches. That would go a long way. They have tried their best to throw money behind it for a long time, but it takes more than that. It takes you literally calling out bigotry and being motivated. Not just letting it be a fleeting fad. It's being consistent year in and year out, that you're combating this issue and it's a problem that needs to change. Not just this year. Not just 2016. Not just 2017.
"If black lives matter, they have to matter forever. They have to matter every year. For most of us, we have to live it every day. And so many people are talking about, 'I'm so tired of dealing with these politics in sports, I'm so tired of having to deal with these race issues.' How do you think black people feel? We deal with it forever, from the day we're born to the day we get put in the ground. It's up to everybody to end this."
Q: How do you keep the momentum of this movement going?
SHERMAN: "The change will be policy. The change will be when the people who are racists are uncomfortable being that. When they're at home an being called out. When they're around their inner circle and being called out. When policy changes.
"I think guys will use their platforms, even once the game resumes, they'll use their social-media platforms, they'll use press conferences, they'll use the game-day platform that we have to continue this messaging and continue to fight the good fight, because it's a lifetime of living like this. And guys hope that this can be the time it changes."
Q: Do you think Colin Kaepernick will be back in the NFL soon?
SHERMAN: "That's the thing -- the NFL is a P.R. machine, and they know 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. That's the unfortunate part -- I don't know. That would be up to you asking Roger Goodell or these owners who don't employ him.
"I've told you this before -- I don't employ people. I can want him to have a job and I can think he deserves a job as much as anybody, because he's a good player. He showed he can play in this league. He can play at the highest level, so he deserves a job. In order to answer those questions, I'd have to be one of the decision-makers who didn't give him a job. And I'm not that person. Until those people are asked those difficult questions, we'll never get the answers."
Q: How are you handling what I presume is a whole lot of white people contacting you, seeing how you feel and checking on you and trying to have this conversation about how they can be better or whatever the case?
SHERMAN: "Honestly, it hasn't been as many as other people. Only been a couple for me. It has been simple. A lot of times, those people aren't the problem, but they have friends and family who speak a certain way, who are a bit bigoted, who have the notion that certain people are inferior because of the color of their skin. And it is on those people, in order for us to have true growth, to combat that. To make those people uncomfortable to feel that way, because it's not true. We're all human beings, and a lot of times preconceived judgment is a detriment to all. I talk to them about just having that growth and having those difficult, uncomfortable 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 on their history that doesn't really want to talk about it. They don't want to put it in American history books. They don't want to explain it. So, if in 400 years people couldn't explain this and get the point through, I don't think I would be able to explain to them the depth of the pain of the inequity in a few minutes or a few hours. I try to keep it as simple as I can."
Q: How important is it that more owners speak out on this issue? And as a player, if some want to protest one way, and others want to protest another way, how do you handle that and not cause division?
SHERMAN: "It is what it is. To each their own. You try to do things unified as a team, and football is the ultimate team sport, but I think there's a love and appreciation for your teammate and your fellow man. You understand that everyone has their own ways of doing things and coping and living. You leave them to that. I can't tell anyone to walk like I walk, talk like I talk, maneuver like I maneuver, or protest how I protest, or feel a certain way about a subject that I feel a certain way about. That's why I have that empathy and that connection with them. In football, people will empathize with one another and have that brotherhood, even if they don't protest the same way."
