Richard Sherman: 'All we want is equality for everyone'

RENTON, Wash. – The Seattle Seahawks returned from their bye week refreshed and ready to continue their fight for social justice.

Richard Sherman and Doug Baldwin both spoke at length Tuesday in the wake of two more recent developments: Baldwin’s letter, co-signed by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, urging social-justice reform, and Colin Kaepernick’s grievance alleging collusion.

“There’s players that’ve never taken their team to the playoffs, never had a winning record, that have jobs that are starting in this  league,” Sherman said of Keapernick’s continued unemployment.  “You hear every excuse in the world, this system doesn’t work for him. These (other) quarterbacks are terrible in any system. There’s quarterbacks that’re bad in every system. And so what? Then you hear these coaches and scouts are like, ‘well, you know, we didn’t like him coming out of college.’ Well, people didn’t like Tom Brady coming out of college. He went in the sixth round.

“…These scouts don’t know everything. Aaron Rodgers fell to 24 (in the draft)– how many people would turn around and regret that decision? People should be losing their jobs because they’re idiots.”

Baldwin said he decided the next phase of the players’ plan should be to work with the NFL, utilizing its vast resources to work for change.

“We don’t want to continue this divisive rhetoric,” he said. “We don’t want to engage this divisive rhetoric.”

Sherman said players around the league feel compelled to take action because they’re in a position to say what many aren’t in a position to.

“A lot of people have used the phrase ‘privileged athletes – all these privileged athletes, you guys are rich millionaires,” Sherman said. “Well, seven years ago I was negative-$45 in my account, and what was I then? I was still a black guy. I was still a kid from the hood, and we’ll never forget those moments. So, what privilege do we have? The privilege that our hard work and dedication paid off, and we were able to change our families lives, to change our lives and to live better.”

Baldwin said the Seahawks have raised “a significant amount” of money through their new Equality and Justice For All Action Fund.

“No matter what, before we had all this money, and after we’re dead and gone, our skin is still black, we’ll still be looked at a certain way, and all we want is equality for everyone,” Sherman said.