(ThyBlackMan.com) What do the names Odell Beckham Jr., Ndamukong Suh, Jarvis Landry, and Julio Jones have in common? They are all among the most recognizable NFL free agents still available. Two NFL free agents not quite as sought after are wide receiver Antonio Brown and quarterback Colin Kaepernick. Interestingly, both Brown and Kaepernick can be viewed as “polarizing” for very different ways and Brown recently had some comments about Kaepernick that were eye-catching.
During a recent appearance on the Cigar Talk podcast, Antonio Brown had strong words about Kaepernick when the podcast’s host brought up Kaepernick’s blackballing for his national anthem kneeling demonstration back in 2016. “But they gave him the money and they gave him a commercial, they gave him the documentary,” Brown said. “He took a deal. We don’t feel sorry for you. You took the deal. F–k out of here. Oh, Kaepernick. Man, you on f—ing Nike, man. F–k out of here.” Brown wasn’t done expressing his thoughts on Kaepernick saying, “Kaepernick did all that and took the money and then got the commercial. We don’t see Kaepernick outside. Where he at? I ain’t never seem him outside. He already took the money, all that’s cap. We ain’t respecting that, bro. You took the money, the commercials. We don’t see you outside. We don’t see him in the hood. He don’t do nothing.”
It wasn’t the only podcast where Antonio Brown expounded on his issues with Colin Kaepernick because during Brown’s interview on the This is 50 podcast, Brown said, “Kaepernick, he’s a great guy, he stood for a great cause but he don’t understand. He’s not from Liberty City, he ain’t even built like that. Dudes like me, they ban you. They don’t even give you contracts, they don’t even want to deal with you. I’m not really an icon right now. You don’t see them writing no books about me.” There is no comparison that Brown was a superior NFL player at his wide receiver position than Kaepernick was as a quarterback. During portions of his Pittsburgh Steelers career, Antonio Brown was considered a top three NFL wide receiver. It is worth mentioning and remembering about Colin Kaepernick that his last NFL season playing for a subpar San Francisco 49ers team included him having a nice 16:4 touchdown to interception ratio so while he wasn’t a Pro Bowl quarterback, he was clearly productive and good enough to be a backup NFL quarterback.
Antonio Brown’s questioning of Colin Kaepernick’s sincerity of his national anthem protest included many of the same foolish points that many people who had issues with Kaepernick raising a level of consciousness of police brutality against Black people in the U.S. After his decision to protest during the national anthem in 2016, Kaepernick did and has done a number of actions that show that he wants to make a difference in society. In 2017, he donated his substantial sneaker collection to homeless people in San Francisco. That same year, he helped raise funds to fly a plane full of food and water to help the struggling population of Somalia. In 2017 he also made a $50,000 donation to Meals on Wheels. Kaepernick also established the “Know Your Rights Camp,” an enterprise fully funded by Kaepernick to raise awareness on higher education, self-empowerment and to instruct others on how to properly interact with law enforcement.
Antonio Brown has “given back” as well including having his own “Live Your Vision” foundation. Brown has given away several hundred backpacks, filled with school supplies, to students in Pittsburgh Public Schools. He has also donated $100,000 to Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh and donated to Pittsburgh Public Schools. Over the years, both Brown and Kaepernick have done significant things for oppressed groups of people in different ways so it is off-base for Brown to attack Kaepernick on that topic especially with Brown’s off the field legal issues. It’s not surprising that Antonio Brown has once again put his foot in his mouth.
Staff Writer; Mark Hines