One day after calling ex-Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson a "pig" in an interview with the Daily News, Sheldon Richardson expounded upon his beliefs on events taking place in his hometown of St. Louis and expressed shock over a grand jury's decision not to indict Officer Daniel Pantaleo in the killing of Eric Garner.
"I was real surprised about that one," Richardson said Thursday. "That was pretty much, as they say, (open) and shut case. Guy's telling you he can't breathe. He wasn't doing anything. I saw the video. It was pretty bad."
Teammate Muhammad Wilkerson didn't address the media on Thursday but posted a photo on Instagram of the Daily News' front page, which shows a picture of Garner being choked, captioning it with the hashtag "#ICantBreathe."
Richardson, who grew up less than 10 minutes from Ferguson, has been outspoken on this subject, and on Thursday did not back off from his comments to the News the day before.
"A guy got murdered and a guy got off for it and it's just that simple," Richardson said, referring to Mike Brown's death. "And it just happened out here in New York too. It's not just in St. Louis. It's pretty bad everywhere now. So much for the justice system."
The defensive lineman is, clearly, not afraid to speak his mind publicly.
"Why would I be? It's just words," he said. "The actions are being done by the police officers who I feel like are doing wrong. You're supposed to protect and serve but you're out killing people."
Richardson lauded members of the St. Louis Rams who raised their arms during pre-game warmups to signify Hands-Up-Don't-Shoot but said he wouldn't be doing anything similar. Speaking on the matter is his contribution for now, Richardson said.
"I can't do nothing about it right now, but after the season (I plan on) getting back and doing something," he said. "I don't know exactly what I need to do right now but I'm going to do something when I get back home. Positive."
"Destroying Ferguson is not what I wanted to come from the verdict of the grand jury. I actually wanted my whole stay city to stay intact and I don't think we'll bounce back from that, the area of Ferguson anyway," he added. "That's just how I feel about it. I just want my hometown to stay as peaceful as possible, but I don't blame them, I know where they're coming from and I understand but that's not the solution."
Richardson said there's been plenty of discussion on the issues surrounding Ferguson and the Eric Garner case amongst teammates and said he has heard a few different view points, "And I understand them both, but I've still got mine."
"Some guys say he's OK, they're fine with Darren Wilson being off," he added. "I think otherwise."
Source: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/jets/jets-richardson-wilkerson-react-eric-garner-decision-article-1.2033900
