As you have surely heard by now, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick has been taking a stand against racial issues in the U.S. by refusing to stand during the National Anthem prior to NFL games. He has also pledged to donate the first million dollars that he makes this season to related causes. Several notable people, such as Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry\, have come out in support of Kaepernick’s actions. Obviously, though, not everybody agrees. In fact, many are vehemently against what Kaepernick is doing, which is why this has become such a hotly-debated issue. Shaquille O’Neal, who will be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame this Friday, shared his stance with Fox News:
The four-time NBA champion, 15-time All-Star, Olympic gold medalist and supremely outsized personality joined the “Fox and Friends” co-hosts this morning to sound off on his enshrinement and some other sports stories making waves, including Colin Kaepernick’s National Anthem protest.
“To each his own,” Shaq said, adding, “It’s something I wouldn’t do.”
He explained that his father was a military man and he has uncles who are in law enforcement, so sitting during the National Anthem is something he would “never” do.
Shaq said that his question for Kaepernick is: “What happened last year?”
“How come you didn’t decide to do this last year or the year before that or the year before that?”
I respect the first part of Shaq’s stance — the part about having family in the military and in law enforcement. That is a fair take, even though Kaepernick has stated that he means no disrespect to the military; that isn’t what he’s protesting. I don’t agree with Shaq’s argument that Kaepernick should have started this earlier. We don’t know why he didn’t, and it isn’t relevant. He’s doing it now, and is the first athlete to really take a stand. That’s what matters.
