U.S. Senator Cory Booker is criticizing the reaction to San Francisco 49ers QB Colin Kaepernick’s anti-American protests in the NFL by saying it is more pronounced than the outrage exhibited when police officers kill “unarmed” black men.
Booker maintains he disagrees with the way Kaepernick raises the issue but says he “doesn’t want the conversation to stop there.” New Jersey’s junior senator says he still feels the issues Kaepernick raises need to stay in the public conversation, Sports Illustrated reported.
But Booker also felt that the criticism of Kaepernick is lopsided.
“People seem to be more outraged over [Kaepernick] taking a knee than the killing of an unarmed black man,” Booker insisted.
Booker was apparently referring to the recent police-involved shooting of Oklahoma African American Terence Crutcher.
The Crutcher shooting was also raised by Denver Broncos player Brandon Marshall who has also been using the playing of the national anthem as a platform to protest against the country.
Marshall went on a tour of several elementary schools in Denver and told children that the Crutcher shooting was a reminder that “we have a long way to go,” according to The Denver Post.
As to Kaepernick, the second-string 49ers quarterback has said that the reaction to his anti-American protests is proof that the U.S. is racist.
“One of the things I’ve noticed throughout this is there’s a lot of racism in this country disguised as patriotism,” Kaepernick said this week. “And people want to take everything back to the flag, but that’s not what we’re talking about. We’re talking racial discrimination, inequalities, and injustices that are happening across the nation.”
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com.