The San Francisco 49ers were on the late game of the Monday Night Football doubleheader, which meant that Colin Kaepernick, and his decision to not stand for the national anthem to protest the state of race relations in the United States, were at the forefront of the discussion again. Kaepernick has gained a lot of fans from his willingness to speak his mind and stand up for what he believes in, but he’s also gotten a lot of flak. This includes shots from ESPN’s Trent Dilfer, whose comments Kaepernick discussed, and dismissed, after the 49ers won their game Monday night.
Dilfer’s comments can probably be boiled down to him saying, “The big thing that hit me through all of this is that this is a backup quarterback, whose job is to be quiet, and sit in the shadows, and get the starter ready to play Week 1.” Basically, Dilfer’s point was that Kaepernick isn’t allowed to speak up about social issues, or anything, because he’s a backup quarterback. This is, of course, incredibly stupid. Kaepernick seems to agree. He was asked about the comments, saying:
“I just heard briefly about it. But I think that’s one of the most ridiculous comments I’ve heard. The fact that you say, ‘You’re a back-up quarterback, stay in your place’… that’s an issue. To me, you’re telling me that my position as a back-up quarterback and being quiet is more important than peoples’ lives. I would ask him to really have a conversation with the families of people that have been murdered and see if he still feels that way. Because I’d bet you he doesn’t. Just because he hasn’t experienced that type of oppression.”
It is to Kaepernick’s credit that, while he did take the time to point out how ridiculous what Dilfer says is, he remained reasonable and on-topic and asked Dilfer to expand his mind. This is not the end of Kaepernick being asked to express feelings on his protests and on what people say about him. Fortunately, he seems well-prepared for that responsibility.
(Via Awful Announcing)