Colin Kaepernick attempted to clarify his earlier comments about Fidel Castro after the 49ers loss to the Dolphins in Miami on Sunday.
In a story we brought you on Friday, Kaepernick praised Castro in a testy pre-game conference call with the Miami media. Specifically, Kaepernick claimed that Cuba had the highest “literacy” rate and explained that unlike the U.S. the island nation had “invested more in their education system than they do in their prison system.”
During the post-game press conference on Sunday, Kaepernick took questions about that conference call and his perceived lauding of Castro. Kaepernick said to the press: “What I said was I agree with the investment in education. I also agree with the investment in free universal health care, as well as the involvement in helping end apartheid in South Africa. Trying to push the false narrative that I was a supporter of the oppressive things he [Castro] did is just not true. I said I support the investment in education, I never said I support the oppressive things he [Castro] did.”
The “false narrative” wasn’t really pushed, so much as it was unopposed by Kaepernick. When Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald pressed Kaepernick about his t-shirt that displayed the image of Castro and Malcolm X, Kaepernick said, “I’m not talking about Fidel Castro and his oppression. I’m talking about Malcolm X and what he’s done for people.”
That’s not exactly a condemnation of Castro. Moreover, when Salguero accused Kaepernick of dodging the Castro question, the 49ers quarterback preached about Cuba’s high literacy rate and superior education investment.
Kaepernick missed the mark entirely on two key points, as Cuba does not have the highest literacy rate and U.S. spending on education dwarfs our spending on prisons. But hey, getting everything wrong has brought Kaepernick this far. Why change now?
Follow Dylan Gwinn on Twitter: @themightygwinn
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