Love him or hate him, Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman is an extremely intelligent man who can talk about racial issues in a way no other professional athlete can.
So it’s not surprising that he’s chiming in on the issue of Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling’s racist remarks.
In an interview with Time magazine, Sherman said although he obviously thought Sterling’s comments were “uncalled for,” they didn’t surprise him because he believes professional sports and the U.S. as a whole have a long way to go on race relations.
“That’s why a lot of people shy away from the conversation that I forced on us in January (after the NFC Championship Game),” Sherman said. “People want it to be done, they want that uncomfortable truth to be over with, they want the racism to be done, they want to believe everything is great and hunky-dory.
“And it’s not. There’s a lot of racism still alive and still active. And it just forced America to rethink it once again. And to really, really understand that racism isn’t gone. We have to actively push it out. And snuff it out.”
Sherman also believes the NFL wouldn’t have banned Sterling for life if he were one of their owners.
“No I don’t,” Sherman said. “Because we have an NFL team called the Redskins. I don’t think the NFL really is as concerned as they show. The NFL is more of a bottom-line league. If it doesn’t affect their bottom line, they’re not as concerned.”
Sherman also added that he hopes the Sterling incident and his subsequent punishment will reopen the floor for a conversation about the Washington Redskins’ name.
Photo via Twitter/@TPM
