Aquinas grad Nick Bosa drew flack for old comments. Richard Sherman says it won’t matter

Nick Bosa, a St. Thomas Aquinas High School alumnus and new defensive lineman for the San Francisco 49ers, became one of the most controversial figures in the 2019 NFL Draft when old social media activity of his surfaced in the lead up to his selection last month. The Fort Lauderdale native was found to have liked Instagram posts with homophobic and racist language, and made Twitter posts of his own calling Colin Kaepernick a “clown.”

For Richard Sherman, none of this will matter as long as Bosa proves he was worth the No. 2 pick.

“One thing about football is that nobody really cares what you say if you can play,” Sherman told The Sacramento Bee on Monday in Santa Clara, California. “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.”

Although Sherman’s time with the 49ers never overlapped with Kaepernick’s, the cornerback has been among the quarterback’s most vocal supporters and one of the NFL’s most outspoken players regarding social issues. Bosa apologized for some of his past behavior, including prior critiques of Kaepernick, when introduced with the team following the draft.

Bosa, who was an All-American for the Ohio State Buckeyes in 2017, also said he hoped his arrival in San Francisco would allow him to wipe the slate clean. Sherman is open to the idea.

“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,” Sherman said. “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.”

Again, this is all as long as Bosa proves himself on the field and in the locker room.

“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, “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 the things that matter.

“Now if he’s a bad teammate, that’s something we’ll address.”

This story was originally published May 7, 2019 at 12:37 PM.