Posted on 02/12/2018 5:25:30 PM PST by MarvinStinson
Retired NBA star Kobe Bryant during an interview with outspoken ESPN anchor Jemele Hill weighed in on the Colin Kaepernick protest debate by saying that if he were still playing today he would have joined in on it despite the potential backlash.
Bryant said that Kaepernicks message was a very simple one and that people are as entitled to protest peacefully as they are to be upset about those protests.
Yeah, I would have participated in it, for sure. Im sure I would have gotten some flak for it. Thats fine, he told Hill. I think that Colins message was a very simple one. It was police brutality needs to stop. We need to take a look at that.
I think we understand this is a free country. I think we have the right to peaceful protest, he continued. Thats what the flag represents as well. The ability to speak, the ability to voice your opinion.
Everybody getting up in arms about it, theyre certainly in their right to do that as were certainly in our right to protest, he concluded.
Bryants comments come on the heels of a Philadelphia Eagles player effusively praising Kaepernick as a legend, while he and other Super Bowl championship teammates declined White House appearances.
Bryants interviewer, Jemele Hill, also made waves recently by saying President Donald Trump was pushing racial pornography by urging people to stand for the national anthem.
Hill, who was suspended for two weeks months ago for calling President Donald Trump a white supremacist on her personal Twitter account, made the recent comments on Rev. Al Sharptons show Politics Nation.
Sharpton asked how Hill felt about Trump [taking] a shot at people that are standing up about injustices?
Hill replied that she wasnt surprised because Trump is a racial pornograph[er].
I wasnt surprised, and I think this is going to be a probably, a constant thing for the president, because its a very easy dog whistle, its low hanging fruit, its what I like to call racial pornography, because its a way to stoke his base, she said.
The Sporting News reached out to ESPN for comment about Hills MSNBC appearance and ESPN spokesman Mike Soltys replied that the anthem is a sports issue.
Previously, as we mentioned, Hill was suspended for tweeting that Donald Trump is a white supremacist who has surrounded himself with other white supremacists, and that Trump is bigot and the most ignorant, offensive president of her lifetime.
ESPN released a statement in October saying that Hill was suspended for violating the companys social media guidelines.
Hey Kobe ..... Nobody cares.
Hey Kobe, raped any hotel maids lately?
..as opposed to military service, where he never would have participated.
It’s better to keep your mouth shut than let everyone know you are a racist.
Kobe the rapist? Not even slightly surprising!
...said the child rapist.
Kobe, you might want to reconsider the "peaceful" part.
Here is a clue: The protests caused serious dollar damage to their employer's commercial property.
Kobe is another black athlete who came from an advantaged background and still fights for acceptance from other black men. He was raised mostly in Italy. His dad was on an international ball team. Kobe is fluent in Italian.
When Kobe got settled in the states, he decided at some point to become like most every other black guy he encountered.
Kobe still seems to go out of his way to show how authentically black he really is. Kaepernick is stuck in the same boat of feeling without a real home, being adopted by a white family. Now he has to reject all that in hopes of being accepted by his peers. Sad.
Kobe trying to stay relevant with 35% of the population. I guess for an idiot that’s better than nothing.
You would have been ignored just like the rest of the NFL.
All that fortune
All that fame
........
I never heard of him.
We already hated you forever Kobe. Just go the eff away.
Kobe has front row seats at Lakers games, I imagine. What’s stopping him from taking a knee at their games? Nothing. Just another blowhard.
Another overpaid ass.
Well then FUKB
He also participates in forcing girls to do anal against their will and gets away with it.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.