49ers cornerback Richard Sherman has been a prominent public figure for some time now and on the planet far longer than that. He has seen flashpoints of outrage and peaceful demands for change in the treatment of African Americans that petered out without lasting progress being made.
That includes the movement led by former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick during the 2016 and ’17 NFL seasons against police brutality of minorities, where his message got lost in translation.
Sherman remains optimistic that this time will be different. The movement and protests against police brutality and systemic racism against African Americans have been particularly strong after George Floyd’s death while in police custody, after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes in an act that was caught on video.
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“The way the world has been, even in 2016 and 2017 when those guys were making it about police brutality and the inequities 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 as a way to avoid the conversation,” Sherman said Wednesday afternoon on a conference call with reporters. “This time it’s too full-fledged. Most people are getting the messaging and seeing it firsthand. Nobody can turn their eyes away from what they’re seeing.
“Any human with any empathy in them for their fellow man would feel that strongly. You have to try to take yourself out of seeing that as a random stranger and see that as one of your own, one of your brothers or sisters or cousins, your mom or your dad. That feeling that emotes should energize you to add yourself to the fight. That’s why I think this will last a lot longer and the impact will be greater.”
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Sherman believes it will take consistent work restating the proper message, especially from influential people of all races with a large platform to sustain the momentum building for positive change.
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“It takes you literally calling out bigotry and being motivated to make it not just a fad or fleeting,” Sherman said. “It’s being consistent year in and year out that you’re combating this issue. This a problem that needs to change, and not just this year or in 2016 and 2017. Black lives matter. They have to matter forever.
“For most of us, we have to live it every day. So many people are talking about being tired of dealing with these politics mixing with sports. ‘I’m so tired of having to deal with race issues.’ How do you think black people feel? You deal with it forever, from the day you’re born until the day you get put in the ground. It’s up to everybody to end this.”
[RELATED: Sherman believes Kaepernick can play in NFL, deserves job]
That includes athletes refusing to stick to sports. While Kaepernick’s message was muddied by those claiming he disrespected the flag, protests should be better understood by a larger number of people when they inevitably occur once sporting events pick back up again in the relatively near future.
“I don’t think energy will slow down because guys are playing,” Sherman said. “I think guys will use their platforms once games resume. I think they’ll use social media platforms and press conferences and game day platforms we have to continue this messaging and continue to fight the good fight. It’s a lifetime of living like this, and guys hope this can be the time that it changes.”
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