Baseball legend Hank Aaron says NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick is getting a raw deal as teams shun him over what is thought to be his decision last season to refuse to stand for the National Anthem.
Baseball legend Hank Aaron says NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick is getting a “raw deal” as teams shun him over what is thought to be his decision last season to refuse to stand for the National Anthem.
“I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color, ” Kaepernick said of his decision.
“I think he’s getting a raw deal, ” Aaron said told interviewer Roland Martin in an interview aired at BlackAmericaWeb.com . “If you look at all the quarterbacks in the league right now, I think you have to say he is 1,2,3,4. I don’t think anybody can do the things that he can do. I just wish somebody would open up and give him a chance to do his thing.”
“I’d love to see some other players stand up” and defend Kaepernick, Aaron said. “I would love that. I think it would give him some incentive, I think it would help him. I think the thing that bothers me about this whole situation is he’s going to all these camps, I suppose, and nobody seems to think he stands a chance of being No. 1.”
During his time with the San Francisco 49ers, Kaepernick “almost carried a team to a championship, to a Super Bowl, ” Aaron said. “I remember that because I was a Ravens fan, and he was playing against my team, the Ravens. Be that as it may, somebody needs to give this young man a chance.”
Aaron is no stranger to protests. He was booed and had people yell racial epithets at him in 1974 when he broke Babe Ruth’s home-run record.
