An excerpt from the Root - (Bold is mine)
To All the Black Men Watching the NFL, Here’s What Philadelphia Eagles Owner Thinks About Colin Kaepernick
By Stephen A. Crockett Jr.
The Philadelphia Eagles have a bit of a history dealing with controversial players. First they signed Michael Vick to a contract after he was sentenced to 23 months in prison for his involvement in a dogfighting ring that included killing dogs that weren’t fit to fight.
They also offered wide receiver Riley Cooper a contract extension after his racist tirade at a concert, in which he called a security guard a nigger, was caught on tape.
But when it comes to free agent quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s silent protest against the deaths of unarmed African-American men, women and children at the hands of police, Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie says that the QB’s got zero chance of playing for his team.
~~~~~~~~~~
So let’s get this straight: Lurie actually believes that Kaepernick was protesting the national anthem. Lurie also didn’t listen to the countless speeches Kaepernick gave after games about why he was kneeling. Lurie honestly believes that Kaepernick’s action was not to try to use his platform to push for social change but, in fact, was only to piss off those who served this country.
This has always been what white America does to black protest: It claims that the protest is un-American. It did the same thing to Muhammad Ali during Vietnam. Ask Tommie Smith and John Carlos how badly they were treated after they returned home from the 1968 Olympics, where each of them raised a black-gloved fist while on the podium.
One of America’s deadliest tricks is to silence black protest by labeling it un-American. They’re doing it again with Kaepernick. Protest, by definition, should be disruptive. It doesn’t have to be violent or even vocal, but the purpose of protest is to move comforts around and encourage thought.
No comments:
Post a Comment