San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick is not going to end his protest against the national anthem any time soon. The quarterback has asserted that many of his critics are using patriotism to dismiss his stand against police brutality.
Colin Kaepernick protest on the national anthem is not going to end any time soon.
San Jose Mercury News interviewed Kaepernick on Spet. 20, and he revealed that he had received death threats.
“I’ve had a few come my way, but not too concerned about it,” Kaepernick said.
Kaepernick added that he has little sympathy for his critics, who have said that he is disrespecting the U.S. and military veterans by ignoring the national anthem.
Kaepernick stated that his critics are ignoring the point of his protest, and that the “message has been out there loud and clear for quite some time now.”
“There’s a lot of racism disguised as patriotism in this country and people don’t like to address that and they don’t like to address what the root of this protest is,” Kaepernick continued.
The quarterback pointed to the Sept. 16 shooting death of unarmed Terence Crutcher in Tulsa, Oklahoma, as a reason why he will continue to kneel during the national anthem.
“This is a perfect example of what this is about,” Kaepernick said. “It will be very telling about what happens to the officer that killed him.”
Crutcher, 40, had been shot by Officer Betty Shelby after police had seen his abandoned vehicle in the middle of the road.
Shelby’s attorneys have defended her actions, stating that Crutcher had appeared visibly intoxicated, was not compliant with her orders, and that she was concerned he was reaching into his vehicle to grab a gun, according to CNN.
The attorneys representing the Crutcher family have fired back that Crutcher had put his hands up in surrender, had no firearm in his possession, was visibly confused and that his car window had been rolled up when Shelby shot him.
“There’s no consideration or benefit of the doubt given,” said Benjamin Crump, the Crutcher family’s attorney. “We immediately jump to the conclusion that they’re a big bad dude, that they’re nefarious, that they’re a criminal. Why is that?”
Kaepernick deemed footage of the incident to be damning.
“No one went and checked on him, no one tried to resuscitate him, nothing,” Kaepernick said. “They walked around, went about their business and made up lies to cover up their murder that they just committed. That’s not right, and they should be in prison.”
Sources: Cooking Panda,Opposing Views/Facebook/ Photo Credit: CBS News
Leave a Comment