Hall of Fame coach Mike Ditka blasted San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick and other players for kneeling during the national anthem prior to NFL games, saying “if they don’t like the country, they don’t like our flag, get the hell out”.
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“Well, I certainly think that the league, and you know when it comes to issues of Commissioner discipline or the way in which the league office is being perceived sometimes as players, I think players see the flip side of that as happening to them”, Smith said.
Thus far, that hasn’t happened.
“I think it’s a problem…anybody who disrespects this country and the flag”.
Whatever criticisms remain about the managing of Colin Kaepernick, within his job as the football coach of an NFL team Chip Kelly just handled the situation masterfully. “We’ve had more discussion, more dialogue, more people talking about this than I can remember”.
But no prominent white male athlete has been willing to duplicate Kaepernick’s stance, or raise a fist in the air as members of Eagles did Monday night.
“These (African American football players) are smart, articulate guys that are thoughtful and are socially aware”.
It’s an absence of variety that makes it all too easy for Kaepernick’s supporters and detractors alike to dismiss a problem that plagues a nation – the overpowering latitude and aggressive attitude of police forces – as merely a “race thing”. But they endured, and struggled to allow future generations to stand at that podium and accept awards they could only imagine receiving. Even president Obama came out to support at least Kaepernick’s right to protest.
A comment like that shows that Ditka is probably missing the whole point of Kaepernick’s protest, but he didn’t seem to care.
He also added, “I have no respect for Colin Kaepernick”.
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This marks the second time that Lewis has taken shots at Kaepernick.
