Richard Sherman Is Willing to Overlook Nick Bosa’s Controversial Tweets, As Long As He Can Play

As the No. 2 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, Bosa entered the league facing controversy over racist, homophobic and pro-Trump tweets. 

When it comes to the newcomer’s history online, 49ers’ teammates like Richard Sherman believe social media isn’t important if you can deliver on the field and be a team player. 

“It’s not like something where guys are like, ‘Hey man, what about what you said?’ No. No. If he can play, he can play. If he can’t play, he won’t be here,” Sherman said of Bosa in an interview with the Sacramento Bee. 

“But at the end of the day, that’s all that matters in football. Is he getting sacks on Sunday? Is he helping our team? Is he being a good teammate? Those are things that matter,” Sherman added. “Now, if he’s a bad teammate, that’s something we’ll address.”

According to TMZ, Bosa deleted his controversial tweets before the NFL Draft and publicly apologized for his actions at his introductory news conference for San Francisco.

“I definitely made some insensitive decisions throughout my life, and I’m just excited to be here with a clean slate,” Bosa said. “I’m sorry if I hurt anybody. I definitely didn’t intend for that to be the case, but I think me being here is even better for me as a person because I don’t think there’s any city that you could really be in that would help you grow as much as this one will.”

While Sherman has been vocal about social issues in the league and has supported former 49er Colin Kaepernick from the start, he doesn’t have a problem with teammates sharing different beliefs. Apparently, Bosa had opposing views on race and “taking a knee” when he was in college at Ohio State. Bosa also called Kaepernick a “clown” for kneeling in protest during the National Anthem. 

“At the end of the day, I think a guy that has played with African Americans his whole life, not saying he can’t be racist, but they know how to maneuver around African Americans,” Sherman said.

“When you’re at Ohio State, it’s not like Ohio State’s an all-white school. So I don’t think that’s going to ever be an issue. I think, at the end of the day, your beliefs are your beliefs … but when you’re in the building, and you’re a football player, and you’re a teammate, you handle yourself accordingly. And I think he understands that.”

Sherman is one of the first players to comment on Bosa joining the team.