National Football League outfit San Francisco 49ers’ celebrity quarterback Colin Kaepernick is making the headlines. He’s in the news not for any sporting achievements but for protesting against racial oppression, social injustice, police violence and inequality in the United States of America. When the national anthem is played prior to the game – players, staff, and fans are generally supposed to stand up to honour the country, but Kaepernick remains seated or he kneels instead. To raise awareness he has pledged to donate $1 million to racial equality efforts in 2016.
“I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of colour. To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and police getting paid leave and getting away with murder,” said Colin Kaepernick as quoted by TheJournal.
After Colin Kaepernick, several NFL players has joined in on the protest. Media has been constantly keeping track of the situation and soon enough the NBA followed. NBA’s San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich echoed Kaepernick’s words. Gregg understands what awareness Colin is trying to generate through his protests.
🐐 RT @KSATadrian: Gregg Popovich answers question about @Kaepernick7 protesting & keeping the conversation fresh pic.twitter.com/xHi09CWOIL
— deejay (@WhoadieBrees) September 26, 2016
NBA players aren’t just worried about their teams as they start a new season. They’re also seriously concerned for their country. The usual basketball cliches that dominate media days gave way to serious talk about social injustice and violence in communities, with players wanting to be involved in finding solutions but acknowledging they don’t know yet how. National Basketball Association outfit Golden State Warriors’ point guard Steph Curry has backed Kaepernick.
“I respect the message that he’s fighting for.”@StephenCurry30 is standing with Colin Kaepernick: pic.twitter.com/AmMZGxjJUn
— Fusion (@Fusion) September 27, 2016
