MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – San Francisco 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman arrived at Hard Rock Stadium for Super Bowl LIV on Sunday with the late Kobe Bryant on his mind.
Sherman was wearing a Bryant jersey as he arrived at the venue.
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It’s been a week since Bryant, his daughter and seven others died in a helicopter crash in California. Sherman talked about what Bryant meant to him earlier in the week as he and the rest of his teammates prepared for the Super Bowl against the Kansas City Chiefs.
“It’s unfortunate,” Sherman said. "It’s really sad. He was a friend of mine. He was a mentor. He meant a lot to this world and he made a positive impact. There’s nothing I can really say to qualify his impact on myself and on others."
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“I just know how he would’ve, you know, wanted me to take this and to react especially in this moment and in this game," he said. "I was really sad yesterday and I was sad this morning. I was kind of down. And then I thought about what he would tell me. He would tell me, ‘Stop being a baby and man up,’ and play it and do it in his honor and win this game for him. And that’s what we’re going to try to do.”
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The 49ers and the Chiefs are set to play in the Super Bowl at 6:30 p.m. ET.