Colin Kaepernick’s recent decision to not stand for the national anthem has sparked commentary from supporters to opposers. Although the San Francisco 49ers QB has been praised by President Barack Obama and Stephen Curry, one of his NFL predecessors, Ray Lewis, isn’t too fond of his stance.
During a sit down on Fox Sports’ Undisputed, the former Baltimore Raven weighed in on Kaepernick’s bold move.
“I understand what you’re trying to do, but take the flag out of it,” Lewis begins. “I have uncles. I have brothers who walked out of my house, going into the military, saying, ‘I will never see you again.’ To understand that, I will always respect that part of what our patriotism should be. And that’s the side I think Colin just needs to step back. To affect true change, if you don’t have a solution, if you aren’t seen as a true activist, to go into the hood and do these things on a daily basis, and not just jump up and protest this one thing because you’re sick of it? We’ve been sick of racism for 400 plus years.”
Ray Lewis on Colin Kaepernick. #NFL pic.twitter.com/1jl8L9RbML
— Matthew Schwerha (@MSchwerha) September 8, 2016
On the subject of patriotism and the military, a hashtag was sparked on Twitter where some veterans stood in solidarity with Kaepernick’s protest.
One veteran wrote, “If I became rich and famous today, and decided to speak out about the on going systematic oppression of black people and constant police brutality in this country, which uniform would you burn?”
Check out another part of the interview below where Lewis also shares his opinion on Cam Newton’s views on racial issues.