Seahawks' Sherman: NFL wouldn't ban an owner like Donald Sterling

Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman is as outspoken as they come, never willing to shy away from speaking out about a controversial topic. Newly the highest paid corner in the league, Sherman provided a less than flattering assessment on how the NFL would handle a situation like that of the racist comments by Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling that resulted in his lifetime ban. 

In a conversation with Time, Sherman was asked if he believed NFL commissioner Roger Goodell would have handed out the same kind of punishment if an NFL owner made similar comments. His response was clear: "No I don't."

Sherman went on to explain his position, pointing to the situation in Washington and the team's continued use of a nickname that is offensive to Native Americans.

"Because we have an NFL team called the Redskins," Sherman said. "I don't think the NFL really is as concerned as they show. The NFL is more of a bottom line league. If it doesn't effect their bottom line, they're not as concerned."

While offended by Sterling's comments, Sherman said he wasn't surprised to hear that kind of racism. The response he received following his comments about Michael Crabtree after the Seahawks victory over San Francisco in the NFC championship made him aware of the remaining prevalence of racism.

"I wasn't really shocked or anything. Because of what I saw after the incident after the NFC championship game," Sherman said. "You've got a lot of racial backlash, and a lot of racist comments that were uncalled for - I can never see a time where racism is called for. So it didn't shock me as much as it would have had I not experienced that personally, had I not seen those things."

As trying as that situation was and as ugly as Sterling's comments were, Sherman can still find some positives. These kind of incidents shed light on the continued existence of racism, and it's only through battling intolerance that such hateful thoughts can be eliminated.

"There's a lot of racism still alive and still active," Sherman said. "And it just forced America to rethink it once again. And to really, really understand that racism isn't gone. We have to actively push it out. And snuff it out."