Why the 49ers Should Reach out to Richard Sherman

Richard Sherman is in need of help, and the 49ers should be there to aid him through his dark episode.

Everyone has gone through dark times.

In most cases, it is kept in house or our circles because we are not athletes or celebrities. 

In the case of Richard Sherman, his dark episode has been amplified due to who he is. When the news of Sherman being arrested broke Wednesday morning, it certainly came as a shock, at least it did to me. Sherman has always been an upstanding guy and has carried an admirable track record. But clearly something has been eating at him over time. 

Getting drunk and stepping in a vehicle doesn't sound like him. Fighting police and a family member doesn't sound like him. "Threatening to kill himself" is the tipping point of this. Going so far as to say that has to be an indicator that the guy is not right. He is not happy or feels low. We all go through it, and maybe some of us have contemplated similar things as Sherman.

This is why the 49ers should reach out to Sherman.

For a team that loved, respected and admired Sherman the person and the player, they should be obligated to reach out and lend him their support. Whether it is to hear him out or simply just be there for him, they just need to reach out to him. For all we know, being out of football is what started this. There could obviously be multiple factors contributing to his episode, but this is why you reach out to help him with it.

This is about more than football. Football was thrown out the window the moment suicide was contemplated. Kyle Shanahan, John Lynch, Jed York, Fred Warner, Jimmie Ward and even Robert Saleh should reach out to him. If Sherman is the person that all of these players and coaches have truly meant all these years, then they will do it.

If this was going on with one of my friends or family, I am stopping what I am doing to do what I can to ease that person's pain. I would easily stop writing this article right now if that was the case for me because that is a dramatically bigger situation to take care of than this. If I knew I could actually help Sherman, I most definitely would because I can relate with his dark feelings.

Just imagine the potential joy and comfort it would be for Sherman knowing so many are there to lend an ear or aid as a support system. It doesn't have to be right now because Sherman has to go through the process of the courts, but the 49ers have to be there for him.

It is only right to uplift someone out of the dark and into the light.