Spike Lee Promotes Rally for Colin Kaepernick

By Darby McNally  |  August 8, 2017 | 1:16pm
Photos by Scott Cunningham/Getty, Erika Goldring/Getty
Politics News Colin Kaepernick
Spike Lee Promotes Rally for Colin Kaepernick

Last August, Colin Kaepernick made headlines when he kneeled during the national anthem to protest police brutality. He brought an uncomfortable discussion to the forefront of a sport that is largely devoid of political discourse and, consequently, to many living rooms, as his actions were debated by professional and armchair commentators alike. Now, Kaepernick is a free agent who has yet to be signed to an NFL team. Director Spike Lee sees this as the league’s way of silencing the quarterback. His response was to promote a rally for Kaepernick that will protest his status as a free agent.

Many news outlets took Lee’s tweet to mean that he had organized the rally, prompting the director to take to Twitter again and provide a little bit of clarification.

Kaepernick is facing extreme scrutiny for speaking out against injustice. It appears that teams are scared to sign the 29-year-old because his behavior is divisive. Some say that Kaepernick isn’t good enough for the NFL, which is questionable at best; even if Kaepernick’s athletic abilities really are the main concern, it sure seems like an awfully coincidental time to decide he isn’t fit to even ride the bench as a backup quarterback.

Whatever it may seem, divisiveness is not his goal. Per Kaepernick’s own words, “I love America. I love people. That’s why I’m doing this. I want to help make America better. I think having these conversations helps everybody have a better understanding of where everybody is coming from.”

The rally will be held on Aug. 23 at 5 p.m. local time at NFL headquarters in New York City.

 
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