Seahawks’ Richard Sherman: “If Black Lives Matter, Stop Black-on-Black Crime”

By
Randy Oliver
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Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman is known as one of the most outspoken players on the football field, and that doesn’t end once he steps off it.

Sherman joins the list of athletes who have spoken out in light of the events that have taken place in the United States regarding police brutality that include Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade, Michael Jordan, to name a few.

The all-pro CB, a product of both Compton and Stanford University, a title not many can attest to, gave a press where he addressed the “Black Lives Matter” movement amongst other topics alike, including an image posted on black supremacist King Noble’s site of Sherman with his arm around teammate Marshawn Lynch with the caption, “When we gon Kill These KKKrakas Bro.”

Remarks as follows:

“Before we get started, I’m gonna address the — because there was some article written. You know, you guys have seen it. Talking about King Noble and all this. I did not write that article. A lot of people had sent it to me over the weekend, but I thought this would be the best place to address it. There were some points in that article, or in that post, that were relevant and I could agree with. But there were also some obviously ignorant points in there. I don’t think any time’s a time to call out for an all-out war against police or any race of people. I thought that was an ignorant statement. But as a black man, I do understand that black lives matter. You know, I stand for that, I believe in that wholeheartedly.

But I also think that there’s a way to go about things, and there’s a way to do things. And I think the issue at hand needs to be addressed internally, and before we move on, because from personal experience, you know, you have living in the hood, living in the inner city, you deal with things, you deal with people dying. Dealt with a best friend getting killed … it was two 35-year-old black men. Wasn’t no police officer involved, wasn’t anybody else involved, and I didn’t hear anybody shouting “black lives matter” then … and I think that’s the point we need to get to is that we need to deal with our own internal issues before we move forward and start pointing fingers and start attacking other people. We need to solidify ourselves as people and deal with our issues, because I think as long as we have black-on-black crime and, you know, one black man killing another … if black lives matter, then it should matter all the time. You should never let somebody get killed — that’s somebody’s son, that’s somebody’s brother, that’s somebody’s friend. So you should always keep that in mind.

And there’s a lot of dealings with police officers right now, I don’t think all cops are bad. You know, I think there’s some great cops out there, who do everything in their power to uphold the badge and uphold the honor and protect the people in society. But there are bad cops, and I think that also needs to be addressed. I think the police officers we have right now — you know, some of it is being brought to light, because of video cameras, everybody has a camera phone. But these are things a lot of us have dealt with our whole lives. And I think right now is a perfect time to deal with it. The climate we’re in … everybody’s being more accepting, you know, so I think the ignorance should stop. I think people realize that, at the end of the day, we’re all human beings. So, you know, before we’re black, white, Asian, Polynesian, Latino — we’re humans. So, it’s up to us to stop it. Thank you.”

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38 COMMENTS

  2. A lot of people act like you can only focus on one thing, or if you support one stance you’re against another. It’s completely ridiculous to be that myopic. There are so many issues and problems in regards to our current situation as a society, and people want to paint things like
    they are black and white. It’s sad and tragic the people feel like the situation they are in is so bad they need to turn to violence.

    There is absolutely still racism in this country. There is absolutely an issue with predominantly white police forces working in predominantly black communities. The shooting of African Americans by law enforcement is an unnecessary tragedy that far too many white people dismiss. The militarization of our police force, largely driven by corporations with monetary stakes is an embarrassment to our free society. The economic situations in a lot of the cities with abhorrent murder rates isn’t a coincidence. At the same time, indiscriminately shooting law enforcement officers is completely asinine. It’s escalating the problem, not helping in any way. The vast overwhelming majority of police officers are good people that want to help, with families and friends, not movie villains out to kill any minority they cross.

    We as a people need to come together, not take sides. I read an article the other day, where a police chief contacted a BLM organizer. There was a planned protest, but instead the police and the BLM group came together and threw a joint BBQ. This is the answer, not a police state or random acts of violence. When people get a chance to see people from other walks of life for who they really are, people with aspirations and dreams, it will do a lot to ease the tension. Police and black people shouldn’t be enemies, they should be allies. Working together to make their communities better, safer places. As long as we think there are two sides, we will never realize that we are all one people.

    • It isn’t taking sides, really. It is the same issue. More white people get shot or otherwise injured by police in violent neighborhoods than “nice” neighborhoods by far. The single best thing you can do to lower the odds of getting shot by police is reduce black on black crime. Repetition teaches, for better or worse, and any policeman who sees one black man with a gun after another hurt people is eventually going to get jumpy around black people. No matter how well trained, no matter how progressive, no matter how intelligent, regular repetition of that experience will make him fear blacks to some extent, and all humans are more prone to mistakes when afraid. Treat the disease and the symptoms will improve on their own.

      If we really, sincerely want to attack this problem, the solution is not training, hiring practices, or body cameras. We have to be brave enough to go after much tougher solutions: cleaning up violence filled neighborhoods.

      • Thank you for that response Tony. Idiots keep thinking it’s a separate issue. It really isn’t. The number of black men killed by other black men is so much more important in terms of raw numbers of lives lost in the US that it isn’t even funny. And it usually becomes pretty evident when you listen to a lot of BLM supporters that often they’re just looking for someone to be angry at and the popo makes an easy target. People feel one or two sob stories propagated by the media justifies their total lack of reason when approaching the issue of black lives because they aren’t really thinking deeply.

        I’m not a religious person but that one bible verse comes to mind – “And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own?”

      • I think the response from police needs to addressed. The old saying they always get there man, should say it all. If someone gets away now… ok they will get them later thats there job to never stop looking. The way police respond to a “criminal” needs to fit the crime if it involves weapons, expect a response with weapons but if someone stole something or is arguing with a girlfriend and they run nobody needs to be shot no guns need to be drawn by police they are paid to not give up. Get them later. I know i dont care if a thief is caught now or next week I know he will get caught but i do care if a non violent thief who never used a weapon is shot because he ran. If other cant see that or think any “criminal” for any crime should be shot if they run then they are a part of the big problem because they have no value for the lives of others that they are so willing to see a life taken for so little and that is sad.

      • If that’s what you believe then I hope you realize the reason there is so much crime in these communities isn’t that they are ‘black,’ it’s that they are poor. The crime is all driven by the socioeconomic factors, not by the color of people’s skin. I hope you vote in a manner that reflects this.

    • Many people think Richard Sherman is just some outspoken athlete that does not really think about stuff. This shows you that is is actually very smart, very articulate, and while brash there is depth to him and he actually things about things. He did go to Stanford after all.

  6. The thing that needs focus is the value of life. When a person’s life ends suddenly, violently, that sends a shock wave through the community that lasts. The parents, siblings, friends, children suffer from that loss for the rest of their lives. The hopes and dreams that person might have realized are unfulfilled. The good they might have discovered in themselves, and those they loved lies buried with them. The police have the toughest job in the nation. The criminals who commit murder in the course of their bad, busy behavior are responsible for the state of race relations vis a vis whose lives matter.

  9. Yes, there is racism in this country, but the BLM movement, with its incessant whining about racist cops and its utter disregard of the bigger problem of black on black violence, makes those racists feel vindicated and contributes to our inability to stamp out the evil of racism. Black lives do not matter to BLM or they would focus on the truly terrible statistics of black on black violence. Further, BLM makes young black men think it’s ok to resist arrest and that REAL black men should not go quietly which, of course, contributes to cops feeling threatened. Memo to young black men – do what I do – if a cop stops me – it’s yes sir or yes ma’am, no sir, no ma’am. No attitude. If the cops are wrong, the detained person can file a complaint and obtain redress. At least he or she will be alive to make the complaint. Watch Chris Rock’s public service video on what to do if a cop stops you.

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