Colin Kaepernick has become increasingly vocal about his political beliefs over the past few years. It obviously all began with him kneeling during the national anthem of NFL games to protest racial injustice, and it has only continued to intensify since then.
This week, the former San Francisco 49ers star released an essay with a very clear message for American police officers.
That message: you have “roots in white supremacy and anti-Blackness” and must be abolished.
“In the wake of the state-sanctioned lynchings of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, the United States has been forced to grapple with not only the devastation of police terrorism but also the institutions that constitute, enhance, and expand the carceral state,” he wrote.
“In response, uprisings demanding the defunding of the police have spread across the country with no signs of stopping.”
Kaepernick then went on to say that the main focus of officers in the United States is to “surveil, terrorize, capture, and kill marginalized populations, specifically Black folks.”
Yikes Tyler Herro. https://t.co/LX84mxEocZ
— Game 7 (@game7__) October 7, 2020
As far as he is concerned, simple reform doesn’t go far enough.
“F*** reform,” he wrote, noting that “reforms have done nothing to stop the actions that force us to #SayTheirNames.”
In Kaepernick’s estimation, “abolition is the only way to secure a future beyond anti-Black institutions of social control, violence, and premature death.”
It will be interesting to see if the NFL and the league’s commissioner, Roger Goodell, agree with this sentiment.
Not great. https://t.co/8swzzOKuxG
— Game 7 (@game7__) October 7, 2020
As recently as a few months ago Goodell insisted that he told teams they had the green light to sign Kaepernick.
“That conversation has happened many times and I’ve encouraged them to do that. . . . We had a tryout where 26 clubs came to watch him try out last year and so that was the kind of effort to sort of say, ‘Listen, if you want to continue your career, here’s the opportunity.’
“Those are decisions that each individual owner has to make, and their club, their coaches, their General Manager. And I’ve talked to a lot of our clubs about it. And so I’d encourage them, and I’d love to see him play again.”
Goodell previously said something similar to Peter King.
“I’ve encouraged teams to evaluate that and sign him if they feel that’s the case,” he admitted.
Will that continue to be Goodell’s position on Kaepernick going forward, now that he is taking stronger stances on things like the abolition of police? Time will tell.
No respect for the Rockets. Zero. https://t.co/D69iH6EViS
— Game 7 (@game7__) October 8, 2020
Kaepernick’s essay, “The Demand for Abolition,” is the first of 30-part series that will span four weeks.
If this is a taste of things to come, it’s safe to assume that his papers will be a topic of conversation quite frequently throughout October.
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Charles Kruger has been credentialed to cover two Super Bowls, four NBA Finals, and one World Series. A 20-year veteran in the sports world, he has sources spanning the NBA, MLB, NFL, UFC and NASCAR. Currently residing in Los Angeles, Calif., he is Game 7’s go-to source for rumors surrounding the Lakers, Clippers and Dodgers.
