Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers has expressed his opinions about bad-faith arguments against player protests and he’s not at all about it.
Mentioning the blackballed Colin Kaepernick and Super Bowl 2018 winning Eagles defensive end, Chris Long, Rodgers does not like the fact that their real arguments about police brutality and social injustice are getting lost.
Rodgers spoke more about this to NFL.com:
“I don’t know how many times we can say, as a player and as a group, how much we love and support and appreciate the troops, and the opportunities this country allows us. But this is about equality and something bigger than ourselves, and bringing people together, and love and connectedness and equality and social justice, and putting a light on people who deserve to have the attention for their causes and their difficult situations that they’re in. You know, people have their opinion — you shouldn’t do it during the anthem, you shouldn’t do it during this — that’s fine. But let’s not take away from what the real issue is.”
He also told The Ringer:
If youre going to take the focus off of what the protest was really aboutit was never about the anthem, it was never about the troops, it was about social equality and racial injusticethen make it all about the anthem, he said. Everybody in the stadium stands and does the exact same thing. You have people in the concession, people in the bathroom; youve got cameramen on their knee watching. You cant have it one way or another.
I can’t imagine what kind of social media attacks these cameramen must be enduring after taking a knee during the anthem and wearing a hat. #unity #equalityforall #love #cometogether #invitationtojoin
119.6k Likes, 7,124 Comments – Aaron Rodgers (@aaronrodgers12) on Instagram: “I can’t imagine what kind of social media attacks these cameramen must be enduring after taking a…”
The quarterback has gone to the defense of Kaepernick in the past, especially last year saying that he had the talent to be in the NFL but wasn’t because of his protests. It’s important for white allies like him and Chris Long to continue to speak out in support of their colleagues who are protesting for notable causes.
