Former Stanford CB Richard Sherman speaks on police brutality, ‘stick to sports’

While we documented Athletic Director Bernard Muir’s open letter to the Cardinal Athletic family, we’re here to bring you more news on the recent protests and national unrest after the murder of George Floyd.

Both a prominent and a vocal leader during his career in football, former Stanford and current San Francisco 49ers CB Richard Sherman had some strong, wise words speaking on police brutality and the ‘stick to sports’ mantra.

Sherman joined NFL Network’s Jim Trotter and Steve Wyche, speaking out about the injustices, police brutality, national protests, and more, as well as what the role of athletes in sports has transformed into.

“Sports bring so many people together,” Sherman started in around the 3:19 mark of the video below. “Those same people who wear the jerseys and cheer on their favorite players, they don’t think about race or ethnicity when they’re cheering on their favorite player or favorite team. But as soon as you go outside of that stadium or outside of sports, then it matters to some people. I’m not saying it’s all people because it’s not.”

Sherman continues, and cited an example of police brutality, bringing it back to former 49ers QB Colin Kaepernick’s cause for kneeling just three years ago: “that’s another reason to support this cause. And that’s another reason for you to support Kaepernick’s cause. He didn’t say, ‘Police brutality is simply against black people,’ he said ‘police brutality.’ Those people are the same people that are the problem. They’re not looking for a solution. They’re looking for a combative way to rationalize fighting against the issue, and that’s the frustrating part.”

Sherman’s full interview is within the eight-minute video here: