Seahawks Player Refuses To Talk Football, Drops Mic On Police Killings Instead

Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman refused to speak about football at a press conference yesterday. Instead, he discussed the ongoing protests going on in the NFL regarding police violence.

After saying his piece, he thanked the reporters and walked off.

Here are a few excerpts from his statement:

I'm not going to answer any questions today and it's no offense to you guys. I think you have players trying to take a stand and trying to be aware of social issues and trying to make a stand and trying to increase people's awareness and put a spotlight on it and they're being ignored -- whether they are taking a knee or locking arms they are trying to bring people together and unite them for a cause. I think people are still missing the point. The reason 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 be getting killed in the street.

He goes on to talk about his community work and how difficult it is when he's trying to give children a positive outlook, but has to tell them when they're dealing with police they have to always have their hands up -- and even then there's no guarantee they won't get shot.

San Francisco 49ers' second string quarterback Colin Kaepernick made headlines for refusing to stand during the national anthem at games, all in protest of police shootings of unarmed black people.

I'm sure you know this already. It took over the internet for a week. Apparently, remaining seated while the English drinking song whose lyrics we rewrote and now use as our nation's anthem is playing is the most heinous thing a human being could ever do.

Kaepernick has faced wave after wave of condemnation from conservatives and others, saying he is unpatriotic, that he is disrespecting the flag.

Of course, I don't think it takes much imagination or intelligence to understand protesting a country that systematically defends police officers who show a clear racial bias, ignores the fatalities caused by that bias and does nothing to affect any meaningful change with regard to it, is, in fact, itself an act of patriotism.

This nation was built on protest and on freedom of speech. Now, Colin Kaepernick reports he is getting death threats.

A week ago, Terence Crutcher, a 40-year-old unarmed black man, was shot by the police in Tulsa after his car broke down. A harrowing video has been released of the shooting.

He was in the middle of the road when he was shot. He had his hands up. Police say he reached towards his car. There was no weapon in the vehicle. He was tasered and shot in rapid succession. He died.

So far, 780 people have been killed by the police this year.

Citations: Aljazeera