49ers cornerback Richard Sherman hasn’t been shy about being outspoken during his career. The 32-year-old didn’t back away from a question in a press conference after Thursday’s practice regarding a potential NFL players strike as a way to protest systemic racism and police brutality.
Sherman said a strike hasn’t been discussed, but it’s something he wouldn’t consider unless it was certain to bring about meaningful change.
“There honestly haven’t been a ton of conversations like that in our locker room. I have had conversations with other players who echoed those thoughts about that potential,” he said via Chris Biderman of the Sacramento Bee. “For me, it just has to make sense. And if you told me that boycotting an NFL game would stop police brutality and stop the injustices that people of color deal with, then I would be all for it. Iw ould say we need to miss seasons, we need to miss the game, we need to stop it now.
“But, in my personal opinion, I don’t see how missing a football game is going to keep police from killing unarmed black people. I don’t see that as a solution, honestly. I wish I had the solution. I wish there was something I could say right now to stop it. I wish I could take those bullets out of the people who were killed. I wish George Floyd was still here. I wish we could back and train those officers better. I wish we could do something different, but we can’t. I think that’s where we need to find a better solution.”
The NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks on Aug. 26 opted not to play Game 5 of their Round 1 series against the Orlando Magic as a way to protest the shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisc. by police. The Magic followed suit. As did the rest of the NBA, which postponed three days worth of games. Major League Baseball never had league-wide postponements, but a slew of teams over the following days chose not to take the field in protest.
In the NFL, some teams cancelled practices. The 49ers did not cancel practice, but head coach Kyle Shanahan said it was something the team would’ve done if the players expressed a desire to do so.