Fact Check: Yes, Colin Kaepernick Is Protesting America, Not Police
'I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color'
Sep 6, 2018
Many in the media have frequently taken to insisting that former football player, Colin Kaepernick, was not protesting America when he habitually kneeled during the National Anthem, but rather police brutality against black Americans.
This is completely untrue, at least if you take Kaepernick's word for it.
When Kaepernick first began kneeling during the 2016 pre-season, he told the NFL Media: "I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color."
Kaepernick, of course, is very clearly saying the United States is oppressing minorities, not simply police officers.
He later expounded on his views in an almost 20 minute Q&A with the press. Asked why he's kneeling, Kaepernick said: “Ultimately it’s to bring awareness and make people, you know, realize what’s really going on in this country. There are a lot things that are going on that are unjust. People aren’t being held accountable for. And that’s something that needs to change. That’s something that this country stands for freedom, liberty and justice for all. And it’s not happening for all right now."
Again, he's talking generally about America.
"It’s something that as I’ve gained more knowledge about, what’s gone in this country in the past, what’s going on currently," he continued. "These aren’t new situations. This isn’t new ground. There are things that have gone on in this country for years and years and have never been addressed, and they need to be.”
After speaking this way for several minutes, a reporter asked, "Specifically, what would you like to see changed?" Only at that point did Kaepernick raise the issue of police brutality — but he also said this was just one of many problems with America.
“There’s a lot of things that need to change," he replied. "One specifically? Police brutality. There’s people being murdered unjustly and not being held accountable. People are being given paid leave for killing people. That’s not right. That’s not right by anyone’s standards.”
Asked if he was worried about police feeling like this was a "blanket indictment of law enforcement in general," Kaepernick responded that the government is guilty as well, as police "are put in place by the government."
At the end of his Q&A with reporters he was asked, "What would be a success?"
If this were simply a matter of police brutality, Kaepernick would have responded to the effect of, "An end to police brutality" or "equal treatment under the law." Instead, he appeared stumped. He eventually offered: "That’s a tough question because there’s a lot of things that need to change, a lot of different issues that need to be addressed. That’s something that it’s really hard to lock down one specific thing that needs to change currently.”
As the NFL season wore on, the election heated up, and Kaepernick's criticisms of the United States sharpened. In September, Kaepernick mocked Trump's "make America great again" slogan, saying, "America has never been great for people of color" and that America still needs to become great "for the first time."
In November, Kaepernick told reporters he didn't plan to vote because both candidates were "evil" and were simply jockeying to become the "face" of a "system of oppression."
“I really didn’t play too close of attention, because I’ve been very disconnected from the systematic oppression as a whole,” Kaepernick said on a standard call to preview the upcoming 49ers-Cardinals game.
“So, for me, it’s another face that’s going to be the face of that system of oppression, and to me, it didn’t really matter who went in there. The system still remains intact that oppresses people of color.”
Around the same time, Kaepernick caused further controversy when he wore a shirt emblazoned with images of Malcom X meeting Fidel Castro. During a press call, a reporter from Cuba, Armando Salguero, asked how he can wear a shirt featuring Castro if he's truly fighting for an end to "systematic oppression" and equality for all.
In response, Kaepernick suggested Cuba is doing things better than America: “One thing Fidel Castro did do is they have the highest literacy rate because they invest more in their education system than they do in their prison system, which we do not do here even though we’re fully capable of doing that.”
When the reporter challenged him, offering his own life story, in which his family was torn apart, with only his mother allowed to flee the communist nation, Kaepernick said America breaks up families, too: “We do break up families here. That’s what mass incarceration is. That was the foundation of slavery. So our country has been based on that as well as the genocide of native Americans.”
That week, Kaepernick's 49s played the Miami Dolphins, where there's a large population of Cuban refugees. The Miami fans greeted the controversial QB with thunderous boos:
As the new face of Nike's "Just Do It" campaign, the company undoubtedly wants Americans to think Kaepernick is simply fighting a principled campaign against police brutality. But this is historical revisionism. Colin Kaepernick, as he himself as explained at length, is protesting not simply police brutality, but the United States.
'I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color'
Sep 6, 2018
Many in the media have frequently taken to insisting that former football player, Colin Kaepernick, was not protesting America when he habitually kneeled during the National Anthem, but rather police brutality against black Americans.
This is completely untrue, at least if you take Kaepernick's word for it.
When Kaepernick first began kneeling during the 2016 pre-season, he told the NFL Media: "I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color."
Kaepernick, of course, is very clearly saying the United States is oppressing minorities, not simply police officers.
He later expounded on his views in an almost 20 minute Q&A with the press. Asked why he's kneeling, Kaepernick said: “Ultimately it’s to bring awareness and make people, you know, realize what’s really going on in this country. There are a lot things that are going on that are unjust. People aren’t being held accountable for. And that’s something that needs to change. That’s something that this country stands for freedom, liberty and justice for all. And it’s not happening for all right now."
Again, he's talking generally about America.
"It’s something that as I’ve gained more knowledge about, what’s gone in this country in the past, what’s going on currently," he continued. "These aren’t new situations. This isn’t new ground. There are things that have gone on in this country for years and years and have never been addressed, and they need to be.”
After speaking this way for several minutes, a reporter asked, "Specifically, what would you like to see changed?" Only at that point did Kaepernick raise the issue of police brutality — but he also said this was just one of many problems with America.
“There’s a lot of things that need to change," he replied. "One specifically? Police brutality. There’s people being murdered unjustly and not being held accountable. People are being given paid leave for killing people. That’s not right. That’s not right by anyone’s standards.”
Asked if he was worried about police feeling like this was a "blanket indictment of law enforcement in general," Kaepernick responded that the government is guilty as well, as police "are put in place by the government."
At the end of his Q&A with reporters he was asked, "What would be a success?"
If this were simply a matter of police brutality, Kaepernick would have responded to the effect of, "An end to police brutality" or "equal treatment under the law." Instead, he appeared stumped. He eventually offered: "That’s a tough question because there’s a lot of things that need to change, a lot of different issues that need to be addressed. That’s something that it’s really hard to lock down one specific thing that needs to change currently.”
As the NFL season wore on, the election heated up, and Kaepernick's criticisms of the United States sharpened. In September, Kaepernick mocked Trump's "make America great again" slogan, saying, "America has never been great for people of color" and that America still needs to become great "for the first time."
In November, Kaepernick told reporters he didn't plan to vote because both candidates were "evil" and were simply jockeying to become the "face" of a "system of oppression."
“I really didn’t play too close of attention, because I’ve been very disconnected from the systematic oppression as a whole,” Kaepernick said on a standard call to preview the upcoming 49ers-Cardinals game.
“So, for me, it’s another face that’s going to be the face of that system of oppression, and to me, it didn’t really matter who went in there. The system still remains intact that oppresses people of color.”
Around the same time, Kaepernick caused further controversy when he wore a shirt emblazoned with images of Malcom X meeting Fidel Castro. During a press call, a reporter from Cuba, Armando Salguero, asked how he can wear a shirt featuring Castro if he's truly fighting for an end to "systematic oppression" and equality for all.
In response, Kaepernick suggested Cuba is doing things better than America: “One thing Fidel Castro did do is they have the highest literacy rate because they invest more in their education system than they do in their prison system, which we do not do here even though we’re fully capable of doing that.”
When the reporter challenged him, offering his own life story, in which his family was torn apart, with only his mother allowed to flee the communist nation, Kaepernick said America breaks up families, too: “We do break up families here. That’s what mass incarceration is. That was the foundation of slavery. So our country has been based on that as well as the genocide of native Americans.”
That week, Kaepernick's 49s played the Miami Dolphins, where there's a large population of Cuban refugees. The Miami fans greeted the controversial QB with thunderous boos:
As the new face of Nike's "Just Do It" campaign, the company undoubtedly wants Americans to think Kaepernick is simply fighting a principled campaign against police brutality. But this is historical revisionism. Colin Kaepernick, as he himself as explained at length, is protesting not simply police brutality, but the United States.
