We’ve heard from a lot of people that are against Colin Kaepernick protesting race relations in the United States by not standing for the national anthem. Some of the takes have been nuanced. Most of them have been of the “I agree with his message but not his method” variety. Trent Dilfer said he should be quiet because he’s a backup quarterback. However, we have the, ahem, king of the Kaepernick hot takes for you. It comes from Iowa congressman Steve King, and it is so profoundly stupid you might want to sit down for it.
King, in an interview with Newsmax TV, said that Kaepernick’s protest is “activism that is sympathetic to ISIS.” You read that right. King says Kaepernick and ISIS are basically on the same page. He also said that Kaepernick is “undermining patriotism.” King added that, were he Kaepernick’s coach, he wouldn’t be able to play, “”until you take a knee and beg forgiveness from the American people, you’re not going to set a foot on this field again.”
Fortunately, King isn’t Kaepernick’s coach. Unfortunately, he is an elected official of the United States government. Look, this is obviously an idiotic, incredibly inane thing to say. We can dismiss essentially everything King says out of hand. It is not a surprise he would have a particularly awful thing to say about Kaepernick. It’s very on brand. We will leave you with some of the “greatest hits” from the life and times of one Steve King.
– Stood up for Todd “legitimate rape” Akin.
– Repeatedly tried to keep the “screaming, profane gays” from getting the right to marry in Iowa, on account of the fact he didn’t “expect to meet” any gays in heaven.
– On undocumented immigrants, he said, “For every one who’s a valedictorian, there’s another 100 out there who weigh 130 pounds—and they’ve got calves the size of cantaloupes because they’re hauling 75 pounds of marijuana across the desert.”
– Here is what he felt about Barack Obama’s middle name being “Hussein”: “I don’t want to disparage anyone because of their race, their ethnicity, their name—whatever their religion their father might have been, I’ll just say this: When you think about the optics of a Barack Obama potentially getting elected President of the United States – I mean, what does this look like to the rest of the world? What does it look like to the world of Islam? I will tell you that, if he is elected president, then the radical Islamists, the al-Qaida, the radical Islamists and their supporters, will be dancing in the streets in greater numbers than they did on September 11.”
– Said racial profiling “has always been an important component of legitimate law enforcement.”
– Doesn’t believe in global warming.
– Has/had a Confederate flag on his desk, even though he’s from Iowa, and Iowa was a Union state.
– Said “The Western civilization and the American civilization are a superior culture.”
Perhaps worst of all, he happily endorsed Ted Cruz for President.
Basically, Kaepernick should be happy King doesn’t support him. That means he’s doing something right.
(h/t AP)