#Seahawks Richard Sherman did not take questions today. Instead made this statement: pic.twitter.com/UudYnm5PTs
— Tim Booth (@ByTimBooth) September 21, 2016
Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman did not take any questions at his team's weekly pass conference today. Instead, he delivered a statement on the protests made by many of his NFL peers in regard to race relations and police brutality in America. Sherman feels that the message of the protests, started by Colin Kaepernick in the pre-season, is being ignored.
Sherman spoke about how athletes who are taking knees or locking arms during the National Anthem are trying to unite people for a cause. He feels people are "missing the point" of the protests saying, "The reason these guys are kneeling, the reason we’re locking arms is to bring people together to make people aware that this is not right. It’s not right for people to get killed in the street."
He went on to speak about the community work he does and how hard it is to tell a child to comply fully with a police officer but "there's still a chance of them getting shot."
Sherman ended his speech with a powerful statement and declined to take any questions upon finishing.
“And so when a guy takes a knee, you can ignore it. You can say he’s not being patriotic, he’s not honoring the flag. I’m doing none of those things. I’m saying it straight up. This is wrong and we need to do something. So thank you guys, have a blessed day.”
Watch Sherman's full statement in the video above taken by Seattle AP writer Tim Booth.