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May 7 (UPI) -- San Francisco 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman has dismissed concerns about how he and new teammate Nick Bosa will get along. Bosa, the No. 2 overall pick from Ohio State, previously had posted pro-Donald Trump tweets and called former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick a "clown" on social media.
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"One thing about football is that nobody really cares what you say if you can play," Sherman told the Sacramento Bee on Monday. "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."
Bosa was projected to possibly fall in the NFL Draft because of tweets supporting the president and criticizing Kaepernick for kneeling during the national anthem in 2016.
Bosa also "liked" a post with racist and homophobic hashtags and was accused of following white nationalists on social media. The defensive end described his previous internet activity as "insensitive" when he met with reporters last month.
"I'm going to be surrounded by people, all different kinds, so I'm going to grow as a person and I'm going to be on my own," Bosa said April 26. "College, you have kind of like that support system around you. Now I'm here, I'm going to be on my own, I'm going to grow up, I'm going to learn a lot of new things."
The 49ers acknowledged vetting Bosa, as they do with all potential draft picks, and researching his social media history.
Trump tweeted his support of Bosa, an ESPN freshman All-American at Ohio State, on April 27.
Sherman, a four-time Pro Bowler and a Super Bowl XLVIII champion with the Seattle Seahawks, has been an outspoken critic of Trump. Sherman tweeted the "behavior of the President is unacceptable and needs to be addressed" in September 2017 following comments Trump made about NFL players protesting the national anthem.
Although Sherman doesn't fully agree with Bosa's political leanings, the veteran defensive back sees no reason to come into conflict with his new teammate.
"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," Sherman said. "And I think he understands that."
