According to Rodney Harrison, Colin Kaepernick Isn't Even Black
- by Grant Boone
- in Sports
- — Aug 31, 2016
"Colin Kaepernick is saying what a lot of people can't".
"I should not have called Colin Kaepernick's race into question during this morning's radio interview", Harrison said.
The former Chargers and Patriots star told Houston's SportsTalk 790 that he doesn't consider Kaepernick to be black. Hughley: "Well, I think it's ironic because Kaepernick is being silent to protest the treatment of people of color in this country, and America is being silent while people are being mistreated, so there is nothing more American than silence".
This has been pointed out by many amid the ongoing national anthem controversy, but Harrison's stance definitely will generate more buzz, even if the former NFL safety/current NBC analyst did preface his opinion by saying he thought Kaepernick's "heart is in the right place". The retired pro-bowler had more to say about Colin, "He can not understand what I face and what other black men and black people face on a every single [day] basis". But I think there's also things in this nation that people need to remember. this country is the same country that had "whites" and "colored" signs on the bathroom.
Harrison later rowed back on his statement, saying he did not know that Kaepernick was "mixed". Republican frontrunner Donald Trump called Kaepernick's decision to sit during the anthem "a bad thing" and said the National Football League star "should find a country that works better for him".
Kaepernick, 28, was born to a white mother and an African American father in Wisconsin before being adopted by a white couple.
Are you going to tell that man's dead parents that they shouldn't speak out about the killing of their son because he's not 100-percent Black?
Harrison suggested writing a check to an organization or cause that fights injustices against minorities is one way to make change. 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?
"Sometimes you have to look at the bigger picture", Harrison said. What was surprising was what when Harrison point blank stated that the 49ers QB isn't black. "I am not looking for approval".
Kaepernick has said he will continue to sit during the anthem, but isn't trying to rope any other teammates in to do the same. It didn't matter how close I stood to my family, somebody would walk up to me, a real nervous manager, and say: 'Excuse me. Since he's become a starter, I've seen trivial articles critiquing how he wears his hat as well as comparing him to a prison inmate for having tattoos, many of which are bible verses. Harrison's reasoning, however, has already rubbed a lot of people the wrong way.