49ers CB Richard Sherman Calls Society ‘Soft’ in Response to Vontaze Burfict Hit

Oakland Raiders linebacker Vontaze Burfict was ejected from Sunday’s battle after hitting Indianapolis Colts tight end Jack Doyle in the head. After viewing the replay, league officials determined that he had launched himself headfirst toward Doyle in a “flagrant” act. The NFL has now suspended Burfict for the remainder of the season, but San Francisco 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman isn’t convinced that this was the right move.

The longtime veteran defender weighed in on the Burfict debate Monday, responding to a tweet by retired defensive end Chris Long. The conversation revolved around how a player from the Patriots was not ejected for his helmet-to-helmet hit on Bills QB Josh Allen while Burfict was removed from the game and was suspended. Long believes that the reason boils down to multiple factors while Sherman attributed the outrage to changes in society.

“It’s just a soft society now,” Sherman wrote. “The Burfict hit was old school. If you don’t want to get hit then stay on the ground. Every hit now is ‘he should be suspended or kicked out.’”

This remark by Sherman matches many made in the debate that has been raging on social media. “Did Burfict cross a line, or was he simply playing like a throwback defender?” There are certainly many that want him removed from the NFL after this latest hit on Sunday while others believe that he is just channeling players from history that were known for big hits.

One of the more recent turns in this debate is that Jon Runyan, the NFL’s Vice President of Policy and Rules Administration, was viewed as a controversial player in his own right. Many are actually of the opinion that his judgment against Burfict is hypocrisy based on his own playing career.

Sherman did not touch on the hypocrisy angle on social media, but he did respond to a few of the commenters on Twitter. He told one person that Doyle getting up from the ground after catching the pass automatically made him “live” and able to be hit or tackled.

This explanation certainly made sense to some on Twitter, but many people would not go so far as to absolve Burfict of any blame. If it was a different player, they would have been fine with Sherman’s argument. However, many felt that the linebacker’s history of illegal actions took away any benefit of the doubt.