San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Ricky Persall missed the first six games of his rookie season in 2024 after being shot in the chest in an attempted robbery back in August.
Pearsall was released from the hospital two days later and made a full recovery. He made his NFL debut in Week 7 against the Kansas City Chiefs and finished his rookie campaign with 31 receptions for 400 yards and three touchdowns.
Following the season-finale against the Arizona Cardinals, Pearsall spoke about the season and forgiving the teenager who shot him during the attempted robbery.
“I don’t know how he grew up so, I can’t judge him as a man just based off one action that he made,” Pearsall said. “As violent as a crime as it was, God forbid him doing that to somebody else. I don’t ever want that to happen.”
“For me, just being able to forgive him at the end of the day like, I have to be able to forgive him to have that weight off my chest,” Pearsall continued. “At some point I do want to talk to the kid and make sure that, if I can create an impact on him in any way I think that would be really big. I think I’d be definitely open to doing that, for sure.”
The suspect in the shooting, identified as a 17-year-old from Tracy, Calif., was charged with attempted murder and two other felonies.
