(SAN FRANCISCO) — San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said it’s a “miracle” rookie Ricky Pearsall is recovering days after the team said the player was shot in the chest during an attempted robbery.
“He’s the toughest person I know, just going through a situation like that,” Shanahan told reporters on Thursday, speaking out for the first time on the incident. “We always felt this way watching him on the football field and things like that, but kind of to watch how he handled that situation and watch how he’s been every day since, it shows how special the guy is.”
Pearsall, 23, was seen at practice on Thursday, standing on the field in street clothes holding a football and watching the wide receiver drills, as the team prepared for Monday night’s season opener against the New York Jets.
The athlete “sustained a bullet wound to his chest” during an attempted robbery on Saturday in San Francisco’s Union Square, the San Francisco 49ers said in a statement. He was released from the hospital on Sunday and is expected to make a full recovery.
On Monday, the National Football League added the player to the reserve/non-football injury list, meaning he will miss at least four games of the season, according to ESPN.
Shanahan said the team has been focusing on giving Pearsall space to physically and mentally recover from the ordeal, though he’s eager to get back to playing.
“I think each day the mental part becomes more a big deal, you know, the adrenaline and just surviving that,” the coach said. “Ricky’s saying stuff … like, I still think I could play versus the Jets.”
“It’s just like, dude, what are you talking about?” Shanahan continued.
On the recovery, Shanahan said Pearsall “wants to go a week or so without trying to work up a sweat” and then will start rehab.
A 17-year-old suspect arrested in connection with the shooting was charged Tuesday with attempted murder, assault with a semi-automatic firearm and attempted second-degree robbery, prosecutors said.
The teen, whose name has not been released, was arraigned at the Youth Guidance Center in San Francisco on Wednesday. Following the court appearance, his attorney told reporters the teen — a senior at Tracy High School — is “very sorry genuinely that this did happen, as is his family.”
“I can say on their behalf, as well as on my own behalf, that our thoughts go out to the Pearsall family and Mr. Pearsall himself,” the attorney, Deputy Public Defender Bob Dunlap, said. “So there’s genuine, genuine remorse in that regard.”
The teen is in custody and will be detained awaiting a trial date.
San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins told reporters Tuesday that her office hasn’t made a determination yet on whether it would request a hearing before a judge to decide whether the teen will be tried as an adult.
Dunlap said he hopes the case does not transfer to adult court, saying his client “certainly should be treated as a juvenile. He is a juvenile.”
(NEW YORK) — Tennis star Naomi Osaka is reacting to her early exit from the U.S. Open with a message focusing on pride and motherhood.
Osaka suffered a loss in the second round of the U.S. Open in two straight sets to Czech Karolína Muchová on Thursday.
“Honestly I had typed out a whole caption about how I’m disappointed with myself etc but I’ve been sitting here playing with my daughter and I realized that I couldn’t be more proud of myself,” Osaka wrote on Saturday.
“I gave birth to such an amazing human and I played the US Open? A win is a win,” she continued. “Sure it didn’t work out this time but I have faith it will eventually. Thank you NY 🖤 see you next time.”
Osaka shared photos from the tournament featuring white bows on her outfit along with a video of singer Rihanna saying, “I remember thinking, she can beat me but she can not beat my outfit.”
In a press conference after the match, Osaka opined on her loss saying, “Honestly, if I get past the disappointment, I feel pretty proud of myself to have gotten that many opportunities while still feeling like I could have played much better.”
Prior to Thursday’s loss, the tennis star earned her first top-10 win in four years, beating former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko 6-3, 6-2 in the first round of the U.S. Open on Tuesday, advancing to the second round.
Osaka first announced her pregnancy in January of last year, before sharing the arrival of her child in an Instagram post in July of last year.
Naomi Osaka says ‘I don’t feel like I’m in my body’ in candid post after Cincinnati Open loss
In January, Osaka opened up about her postpartum journey in an interview with Glamour.
“Having a baby completely destroys your pelvic floor,” she said. “I was shocked, because I couldn’t get up out of my bed.”
