The responses to Colin Kaepernick’s stance on the national anthem have been triggering. Many stars and athletes have added their input to a brave and bold decision by a man of power. Former NFL player and current NBC analyst, Rodney Harrison took everything to a new heights when saying “Kaepernick shouldn’t have stayed seated during The Star-Spangled Banner.”
“I think his heart is in the right place,” Harrison said. “I just think he’s going about it the wrong way. And if he really wants to make change, sitting his butt down on the bench, that’s not going to change [anything]. That’s going to get people very upset, and he has to understand that. If you think you’re sitting against the national anthem, well, a lot of people really served before his time and are now trying to give him the freedoms and the liberties and the opportunities he has to be able to make the money that he has and the ability to speak and have a voice.”
He then went on to say that Kaepernick shouldn’t have done what he did because he is not black.
“I’m a black man, and Colin Kaepernick, he’s not black,” Harrison said. “He cannot understand what I face and what other young black men and black people face or people of color face on an every single [day] basis when you walk in the grocery store and you might have $2000 or $3000 in your pocket and you go up into a Foot Locker and they’re looking at you like you’re about to steal something. I don’t think he faces those types of things that we face on a daily basis.”
It was a bit awkward to see Harrison say such a thing. Colin Kaepernick who is half-white and half-black has every right to stand up for what he believes in the life of right and wrong. When Harrison was told Kaep was half black he then continued on to say this:
I’m not saying that he has to be black. What I’m saying is, you know, I said his heart is in the right place, but even with what he’s doing, he still doesn’t understand the injustices that we face as a black man or people of color.
It’s one of those situations where it’s a very sensitive topic, and he has to understand, too, that right now, he’s in the midst of a quarterback battle. He’s in the midst of trying to keep a job. Sometimes, you have to look at the bigger picture. People will say, ‘Well, maybe what he’s standing for is bigger than him winning the job,’ or something like that. But my thing is, I look at the timing of the situation. Why is he doing it now? He’s in a quarterback battle. He’s fighting for his life. Yes, he’s guaranteed $11 million. But what happened to all this Colin Kaepernick talk when he was making $300,000? I guess it’s easier to sit there and say, ‘I know I’m guaranteed $11 million. I made eight figures last year, so I’m set financially for the rest of my life. Now, I can get up and talk and feel like I have the freedom to say whatever I want.’ But what happened to that three, four years ago when he was making little money? That’s my thing. It’s the timing.
And then, I was always taught by [Patriots head coach] Bill Belichick, ‘Don’t cause distractions in the locker room. Don’t force your teammates to have to answer questions for you.’ Now what is his teammates doing? They have to answer questions. It becomes a distraction, and this team frankly is not good enough to be able to handle trying to get better and to handle these distractions. I just think it’s not the right timing.
Harrison has since then apologized for his statement and has also said that “he had no idea Colin was mixed” but everyone has seemed to know that. Harrison is still being criticized by the twitter world for his disgusting comments on Colin’s stance to not stand for the national anthem.
