Richard Sherman never has been one to keep his opinions under wraps, and now, he’s speaking out about one of the NFL’s most pressing issues.
The NFL continues to be under fire for their handling of players’ head injuries. Most recently, Houston Texans quarterback Tom Savage returned to Sunday’s game against the San Francisco 49ers for one more series despite being evaluated for a concussion after a scary hit that appeared to leave him involuntarily shaking.
In a recent interview with Esquire, Sherman acknowledged that while players need to hold themselves accountable when a head injury is sustained, he also believes the league needs to get their priorities in check regarding the matter.
“No, the league hasn’t done much outside of appeasing public opinion,” Sherman said. “Now, you get a hard hit, fine players a bunch of money, suspend guys. But it’s more punishing players than it is player safety, and putting more money into league charities, et cetera. It’s not really changing the game or making it more safe. Obviously there are still players going back into the game after head injuries and after huge collisions. Guys go unreported. But to appease public opinion, and to make the fans continue to watch the game and the product, they went out and made all these rules. Now we have a guy on the sideline. That’s not for safety, that’s for public opinion.”
This isn’t the only issue Sherman has been outspoken about regarding player safety. The Seattle Seahawks cornerback has vocalized frustrations surrounding “Thursday Night Football” games. Sherman sustained a season-ending Achilles injury in a Thursday night clash against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 10 not long after speaking out about “TNF.”
