NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell thinks the league should have listened a lot sooner to Colin Kaepernick.
Kaepernick kicked off national anthem protests across the league back in 2016, and they’re bound to consume the NFL again in 2020. Apparently, Goodell is a believer that this isn’t a bad thing and that he should have listened to the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback years ago. (RELATED: David Hookstead Is The True King In The North When It Comes To College Football)
“I wish we had listened earlier, Kaep, to what you were kneeling about and what you were trying to bring attention to,” Goodell said during a conversation with Emmanuel Acho when asked what he’d say to Kaepernick today.
You can watch and listen to his full comments below.
Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man: The National Anthem Protest- PT. 1
NFL Commissioner, Roger Goodell, & I discuss Colin Kaepernick & the protests during the national anthem that polarized America. pic.twitter.com/PcL02732ys
— Emmanuel Acho (@EmmanuelAcho) August 23, 2020
Give me a break. The spin zone and revisionist history on Colin Kaepernick is truly unbelievable.
Why are we pretending like Kaep was some upstanding role model during his national anthem protests? The man couldn’t even string a coherent message together.
Which part should Goodell have specifically listened to? Kaepernick wore pig socks, compared cops to slave catchers, claimed they can murder people with impunity and get paid leave, and praised Fidel Castro.
Which part of that does Goodell think the league should have paid attention to earlier?
Colin Kaepernick’s practice socks portray police officers as pigs (via @johnbreech) https://t.co/T8D1RK2fY9 pic.twitter.com/jj7BsAUfLn
— Charlie Spiering (@charliespiering) September 1, 2016
Colin Kaepernick isn’t a hero, and we shouldn’t pretend he is just because we’re years removed from his kicking off the anthem protests.
I can’t believe we’re now in a position where I have to defend NFL leadership, but the idea they screwed up in 2016 is just incorrect.
They let Kaep take a knee and didn’t intervene at all. Despite all the stupid stuff he did, Kaepernick faced no backlash from the league. From the fans? Sure. From Goodell? Not at all.