NFL star Colin Kaepernick has been receiving a mix of support and criticism following his choice to sit while his teammates stand during the national anthem.
It’s a bold move but also one that solidifies his stance as it relates to the unjust incidents against Black people taking place, repeatedly, in society.
Among those who choose to take the “All Lives Matter” route are former NFL athletes Jerry Rice and Tiki Barber.
When asked his thoughts on Colin’s choice of action, Rice declared:
All lives matter. So much going on in this world today.Can we all just get along! Colin,I respect your stance but don’t disrespect the Flag.
— Jerry Rice (@JerryRice) August 30, 2016
Can we all just get along? Wishful thinking, Jerry. That same phrase has been used for years and the cycle of brutality and social injustice are becoming as blatant as they were during the bad old days before and during the civil rights movements generations past.
To disregard the notion that Black Lives Matter, specifically, in this critical time is to turn a blind eye to the fact that attention needs to be paid to the loss value of Black and Brown lives. By asserting All Lives Matter is to turn a blind eye to the reality that police officers are escaping jail time for fatally shooting unarmed Black men, women and children.
Yes, LIFE matters, but Black lives are not being valued right now.
During an interview with CBS, former NY Giants running back Tiki Barber, candidly expressed why he disagrees with Colin’s protest. “There are issues in this country. That you have to commend him for. But I don’t commend him for sitting and not honoring this country and our flag,” Barber said.
“I don’t commend him for sitting and not honoring this country and our flag.” — @TikiBarber on @Kaepernick7 pic.twitter.com/8JeU9WKQZf — CBS This Morning (@CBSThisMorning) August 29, 2016
In Kaepernick’s reasoning for opposing the national anthem, he discusses the contradictions of the anthem in relation to reality.
“This country stands for freedom, liberty and justice for all. It’s not happening for all right now. It needs to change,” Kaepernick said.
Once Twitter got tuned-in to Rice and Barber’s statements, they let loose and expressed their thoughts on the former NFL athletes’ point-of-view.
Predictably, Barber got dragged.
Asking Tiki Barber about social issues is like asking Ja Rule about a national crisis. #Dont pic.twitter.com/EWalkwLr66
— HELLA BLVCK (@HELLABLVCK) August 30, 2016
Tiki Barber still fumbling in 2016 and he doesn’t even play anymore . — Early Eckles (@MyNameIsEarly_) August 30, 2016
Tiki Barber is no Moral authority on anything for cheating on his pregnant wife with his young intern whom he later married. #IsupportColin
— skdixon (@sdixon3171) August 30, 2016
Jerry Rice is receiving his share of Twitter slaughter as well…
Jerry Rice went to school down the road from where Emmitt Till got killed and really said All Lives Matter — King Jay (@JayFrieson) August 30, 2016
You notice how whites love jerry Rice all of a sudden? Whites will always love a black man that doesn’t speak up for its people.
— jada❥ (@thelowlife_jr) August 30, 2016
years removed from catching touchdown passes, Jerry Rice has decided to spend his retirement catching Ls instead. https://t.co/npyJb5RIb1 — Gene Demby (@GeeDee215) August 30, 2016
Black Twitter to Jerry Rice: pic.twitter.com/dVo1djPuCQ
— britni danielle (@BritniDWrites) August 30, 2016
Journalist Shaun King, who has shown support for Kaepernick, penned an essay for the New York Daily News explaining his reason for no longer believing in the message of the national anthem. In his analysis, King digs into the lyrics and the writer of the anthem, whom he discovers penned a third verse that was heavy with racial undertones.
He writes:
“While it has always been known that the song was written during American slavery and that when those words about this nation being the “land of the free” didn’t apply to the millions who had been held in bondage, few of us had any idea that the song itself was rooted in the celebration of slavery and the murder of Africans in America, who were being hired by the British military to give them strength not only in the War of 1812, but in the Battle of Fort McHenry of 1814.”
Read Kings’ full perspective here.
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