Richard Sherman says players 'don't have a reason to trust the NFL'
Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman is one of the more vocal players in the NFL, always sharing his thoughts on societal issues, as well as those surrounding the league itself. On Thursday, he shared a video via the Players’ Tribune on the relationship between players and the NFL – one that he says lacks trust.
“We really don't have a reason to trust the NFL, and I don't think they mind either way. At the end of the day, they're going to do what they have to do to make their money and to make as much money as they can for the owners, and our union's going to do what they can to protect the interests of the players and the rights of the players and help them make as much money as possible. That's the way it's always gonna be.”
Sherman says it’s extremely difficult for the league to stress player safety and pound the table for a safer style of football because it’s such a violent game. Players are colliding at full speed, tackling each other’s knees and necks, which many view as part of the game.
“It’s hard to stress player safety in such a violent game,” he said. “Because, at the end of the day, ratings sell, people wanna buy tickets, people are gonna come to games regardless. Now, does the league care when Cam Newton gets hit in the face five times, and pretty much knocked out of the game, and they have all these spotters and people that watch the game specifically for these reasons and you see the guy on his hands and knees shaking his head and he just took a shot to the face?”
Sherman specifically references the fact that officials didn’t see a need for Newton to come out of the game, suggesting that it had to do with TV ratings.
“And they’re saying they didn’t see any indications that he needed to come out of the game. If you take the reigning MVP out of the game in the last couple minutes with the games on the line, he’d be frustrated, the fans would be frustrated. But it would be in line with what you said that you want to see in terms of player safety, but you didn’t because it would affect the ratings, because it would affect the game.”
"We really don't have a reason to trust the NFL."@RSherman_25 explains the divide between the NFL and its players. #TuesdaysWithRichard pic.twitter.com/BrFXWAe2iM
— The Players' Tribune (@PlayersTribune) September 29, 2016
