As more people respond to Colin Kaepernick’s very public attacks on the United States, 49ers icon Jerry Rice added his voice to the fray by criticizing the team’s current quarterback.
Rice took to his Twitter feed to slam Kaepernick and at the same time got in a sideways dig at the Black Lives Matter movement.
Rice, a 2010 inductee into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, played most of his professional football career with the 49ers and is considered the game’s greatest receiver.
The tweet comes on the heels of Kaepernick’s decision not to stand for the national anthem during last week’s game with the Green Bay Packers.
The player, rumored to be on the verge of being cut from the team for failing to perform, later explained that he doesn’t feel any need to stand and honor the anthem of a “racist” country that “oppresses” black people.
Since his antics hit the news, though, the player has taken a lot of criticism.
Almost immediately, fans took to social media to express their displeasure over Kaepernick’s expression of hatred for the country. Several posted images and videos of burning Kaepernick jerseys while others told the player to move to some other country where he might feel more comfortable.
GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump also remarked about the incident saying that perhaps Kaepernick should move to another country since he hates the U.S. so much.
“I think it’s a terrible thing, and you know, maybe he should find a country that works better for him, let him try, it’s not gonna happen,” Trump said, when asked about the controversy on “I think it’s a terrible thing, and you know, maybe he should find a country that works better for him, let him try, it’s not gonna happen,” Trump said, when asked about the controversy on The Dori Monson Show on Seattle radio station KIRO.
The San Francisco Police Officers Association was also unappreciative of Kaepernick’s showy disrespect for the country. In a letter to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, the SFPOA claimed Kaepernick “embarrassed himself.”
But members of the public and certain political actors aren’t the only ones speaking out. Joining Jerry Rice, some members of the national sports scene have also slammed Kaepernick for his anti-American stunt.
Former 49er Alex Boone, for one, criticized Kaepernick, calling it “shameful” that he did not stand for the anthem.
One-time Army Ranger and current Pittsburgh Steelers tackle Alejandro Villanueva also criticized Kaepernick, noting that for all his claims that blacks can’t get ahead in the U.S., the same country “provided” Kaepernick with “$16 million a year” salary at a time “when there are black minorities that are dying in Iraq and Afghanistan for less than $20,000 a year.”
Former 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh also knocked Kaepernick for his un-American gesture, saying he “doesn’t respect” Kaepernick’s “motivation or the action.”
On the other hand, there have been voices of support for the player’s show of hate for the U.S. Barack Obama’s White House went to pains to praise Kaepernick for dissing America.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com.
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