Colin Kaepernick is refusing to stand for the national anthem. Is he right to do so? Thank you for joining me on the eleventh episode of The LAVA Spurt, The I Sit With Kaepernick Edition. And make sure you hang on through the end of this episode to hear how you can win some cool swag from me!
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick has willingly immersed himself directly into controversy and the line of fire by refusing to stand for the playing of the national anthem in protest of what he deems are wrongdoings against African Americans and minorities in the United States. He has done this for at least two preseason games so far.
“I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color,” Kaepernick told NFL Media in an interview after the game. “To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.”
In an interview with NBC, Kaepernick said, “This country stands for freedom, liberty, justice for all — and it’s not happening for all right now. This is because I’m seeing things happen to people that don’t have a voice, people that don’t have a platform to talk and have their voices heard and effect change. So I’m in a position where I can do that, and I’m going to do that for people that can’t.”
This guy has got some major cajones. He has willingly put a target on his back to bring attention to a major issue in this country, an issue I talk about on this show a lot, and I have nothing but respect for his stance on this issue. I do wish he had called out all police violence and not just targeting his comments at police violence on black people because that is the larger picture. This is not a race issue, it is a power issue. It’s an issue of authority asserting their power.