San Francisco 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman was linebacker Reuben Foster's locker neighbor. The team announced early Sunday morning, just hours before its kickoff against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, that Foster would be released after his latest arrest on suspicion of domestic violence.
The move will become official on Monday, and the star linebacker spent Sunday morning dealing with yet another ordeal rather than being with his teammates.
"To the outside world, we're fantasy points," Sherman told reporters after Sunday's 27-9 loss while discussing Foster. "We're names and stats. Inside the locker room, you develop more of a bond, more of a relationship. You know who a person is. You don't think of him as a jersey number or a last name or anything like that. You think of him as a human being.
"You see his trials and tribulations. You see his ups and his downs. You're just sad for the kid because, the situation, it just sucks."
Sherman is disappointed in the situation surrounding a teammate he had a chance to get to know since joining the 49ers in March. He felt Foster was making steps in the right direction since his offseason arrest, also on suspicion of domestic violence.
"When you grow up under the circumstances that he grew up and don't have parents, moving from home to home, you just make the best of what you've got, and that's what he tried to do," Sherman said. "He made the best of a really tough situation, got himself a scholarship for it, got to Alabama, got himself to the NFL.
"It's tough sometimes to develop the skills that you need to kind of make your way in the world, and he was doing that. I think Austin Moss was doing a great job — you know, our [director of player engagement] — and John (Lynch), and Kyle (Shanahan), and everybody was doing their part to make sure he kind of stayed on the right track.
"And he was working hard. He knew his deficiencies and knew what he had to do. It's just unfortunate this situation keeps coming up."
Sherman said most of the team woke up to the news because the incident occurred when they were still in meetings. The arrest took place at 9:10 p.m. ET on Saturday night in Florida at the Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay, the team's hotel.
Sherman was not surprised by the Sunday morning announcement that the 49ers were releasing the star linebacker.
"It's what they had to do," he said. "I think the organization has handled the situation as best they could. Obviously, been patient and deliberate, and trusting and understanding of who Reuben is and what kind of heart he has. But it's just a really compromising situation to put the team in repeatedly."
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