In a press conference, Seattle Seahawks corner Richard Sherman opened up his session by briefly talking about the matchup against the San Francisco 49ers before going off on a heartfelt message about police brutality and the national anthem protests stemming from Colin Kaepernick’s first kneel.
“The state of things in the world today is very … interesting,” Sherman said. “You have players who are trying to take a stand and who try to be aware of social issues to try to make a stand and increase people’s awareness and put a spotlight on it, and they’re being ignored. I mean, whether they are taking a knee or they’re locking arms, they’re trying to bring people together and unite them for a cause. I think the last couple of days, a couple more guys have gotten shot and killed in the middle of the street. More videos have come out of guys getting killed.”
“And I think people are still missing the point. You know, the reason these guys are kneeling, and the reason we’re locking arms, is to bring people together, to make people aware that this is not right.”
Wow— this is a must-watch.
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) September 22, 2016
Seattle Seahawks’ Richard Sherman addresses police killings of African American men at presser, then walks out. pic.twitter.com/GOAOSgufAx
Sherman is referring to the police shooting of Keith Lamont Scott, who was killed in Charlotte, North Carolina, and Terence Crutcher, who was killed in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Scott, who is black, allegedly would not drop a gun when confronted by police before he was killed. Crutcher, who is also black, was unarmed.
In the Seahawks’ season opener, the entire team linked arms to show solidarity and support for the anthem protest first initiated by Kaepernick.
The two teams play each other this Sunday.
• Tommy Chalk can be reached at tchalk@washingtontimes.com.
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