San Francisco 49ers rookie wide receiver Rick Pearsall hopes to make a positive impact on the teenager who shot him in August. Pearsall was shot by a 17-year-old in an attempted robbery at Union Square, and the 49ers wideout wants to make sure the young man is able to get his life back on the right path.
On locker cleanout day for the 49ers, Pearsall was asked about potentially meeting the person who nearly killed him shortly before he was set to make his NFL debut. Pearsall said he would like to speak with the teen and try to make a difference in his life.
"At some point, I do want to talk to the kid," Pearsall said, per KNBR, a Bay Area radio station. "If I can create an impact on him in any way, I think that will be really big. I'd be definitely open to doing that for sure."
Pearsall doesn't seem to harbor any ill will toward his shooter, saying he doesn't know what led the 17-year-old to commit such a violent crime. Pearsall added he can't judge a person based on a single action.
"Sometimes, you just don't got answers for that," Pearsall said. "I don't know where he came from, what environment he grew up in. ... I don't know how he grew up, so I can't judge him as a man based off that one action. As violent a crime as it was, God forbid him doing that to someone else. I don't ever want that to happen."
In addition to helping the young man, Pearsall also wants to be able to forgive his shooter directly.
"For me, it's just being able to forgive him," Pearsall said. "I have to be able to forgive him to have that weight off my chest, you know what I mean?"
The gunshot wound forced Pearsall to delay his NFL debut by about six weeks, but it didn't deter the first-round pick from getting back on the field. Pearsall played his first NFL game on Oct. 20, and he finished the season with 31 catches for 400 yards and three touchdowns.
