by Alex Newman
Colin Kaepernick really, really hates police. Of course, he does not say that out loud too often. But everyone knows that actions speak louder than words — and Kaepernick’s actions (and even his clothing) scream his hatred of law enforcement from the rooftops. But the real danger to police across America is not a has-been football player desperately seeking time in the spotlight. It’s not even the impressionable followers who join him in his anti-police, anti-America publicity stunts on or off the field. Plenty of fellow football players with no understanding of the issues have done that.
Rather, the real threat comes from the de-legitimization of police in general. And the threat is compounded by those who may become inspired by Kaepernick and take the anti-police hatred a step further — perhaps the aimless youngster who may see on TV or in a clothing ad that hating cops is “cool,” and decide to take the next step toward showing his “coolness” by going beyond free speech into the realm of actual violence. The frequent murder of police — there were 137 deaths in the line of duty in 2017 — is becoming easier in a climate in which hatred of police is ubiquitous. And Kaepernick is doing all he can to contribute to that.
There are major warning signs suggesting that Kaepernick and some of his followers may even support violence against police, particularly in cases where an officer is alleged to have acted wrongly, whether justified or not. Law enforcement: beware, and be aware. Kaepernick and his followers are creating a climate that makes the already dangerous job of police officers even more dangerous. And they seem just fine with that, in ways that you may not be able to comprehend. More on that below.
Kaepernick, who played for the San Francisco 49ers before becoming a free agent, is most famous for taking a knee in “protest” during the national anthem before football games in 2016. “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 complained to NFL Media after one of the first games in which he refused to stand. “To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.”
Debunking Kaepernick’s Claims
In short, Kaepernick believes that in America, the police systematically oppress blacks, and that they are “getting away with murder.” Of course, the facts show otherwise. In reality, according to a 2014 study out of Washington State University by lead researcher Professor Lois James and others, published in the Journal of Experimental Criminology,police were actually less likely to shoot a black suspect than a white or Hispanic suspect. “In other words, there was significant bias favoring blacks where decisions to shoot were concerned,” wrote James and her co-authors.
Study researcher David Klinger, a professor of criminology and criminal science at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, noted that black SWAT officers make up around one-third of the city’s police force, and they commit about one-third of the shootings each year. “Once you start looking at levels of violence, levels of threat, blacks are not shot in manners that are disproportionate to their involvement in illegal activity,” the professor explained. “And it doesn’t matter if the cop is black, white or Hispanic.”
Also, the last comprehensive study on the issue was in 2001, and, using two decades of U.S. Bureau of Justice data, it found that black suspects were as likely to shoot police as police were to shoot black suspects. More recent data cited in news reports show that the number of black Americans killed by police is down by almost 75 percent over the last several decades. Clearly, then, Kaepernick has either been duped by dishonest media reporting, or is intentionally exploiting isolated, extremely rare incidents as a pretext to advance his anti-police agenda.
As far as his concerns about the killing of black people are concerned, it is interesting that Kaepernick has donated $25,000 to the Center for Reproductive Rights. This radically pro-abortion organization once held an event literally celebrating the millions of unborn children eliminated by abortion. Of course, abortion is the leading killer of black people in America today, the data show. Outside of the womb, some 93 out of 100 black homicide victims are killed by other black Americans, and yet Kaepernick says nothing about those victims. So obviously, the killing of black people is not Kaepernick’s real concern.
Kaepernick also claims to be concerned about police “oppression” in America, particularly police oppression of black Americans. However, if it is really oppression he is concerned about, it was a bizarre decision to sport a T-shirt featuring the picture of one of the most oppressive mass murderers of the 20th century, Cuban dictator Fidel Castro. Ironically, Castro’s chief executioner, Ernesto “Che” Guevara, was a racist who described blacks in his writings as “indolent” drunkards who “maintained their racial purity thanks to their lack of an affinity with bathing.”
Countless black (and white) people were murdered by Castro and his thugs during and after the “revolution” that enslaved that island. Castro and Che also sent armies to enslave Africans in Africa under barbaric communist regimes that were infinitely more oppressive than even the most radical critic of America would accuse the U.S. government of being. Adding insult to injury, Kaepernick wore the Castro T-shirt in Miami, where many residents have friends and family who were not only oppressed by Castro, but executed by his firing squads without even a semblance of due process. So much for opposing oppression.
Interestingly, oppressive dictators such as former Iranian “President” Mahmoud Ahmadinejad have praised Kaepernick.
Hatred of American Police
Kaepernick acts as though a handful of recent high-profile incidents involving police and black suspects triggered his rage against “police brutality.” His ire, though, from the start, has been directed against police more generally, using false narratives about alleged brutality to fuel his hate. But there is an even more sinister side to his disrespect of America, its flag, its anthem, its fallen heroes, and its people. On the field, he sits or kneels for the anthem, and wears socks that ridicule police officers as pigs. Off the field, he donates some of his millions to extremist anti-police organizations, including one literally named after a notorious, convicted cop killer.
Among other controversies that the media has ignored or sought to downplay is one with major ramifications for law enforcement. As part of a pledge to donate money to “organizations working in oppressed communities,” Kaepernick was exposed in a major foreign newspaper, the U.K. Daily Mail, as donating $25,000 to a so-called “charity” that is literally named after and dedicated to a convicted cop killer — one of the FBI’s most wanted terrorists. The outfit, known as Assata’s Daughters, honors Joanne Chesimard, more commonly known as Assata Shakur. Her organization, the Black Liberation Army, murdered more than 10 police officers during its reign of terror.
In 1973, Shakur was involved in the deadly shooting of New Jersey State Trooper Werner Foerster during a routine traffic stop. Foerster, who responded to a call for backup, left behind a wife and two children. Shakur was sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of the murder in 1977. Instead of serving her time, she broke out of prison two years later and escaped to Communist Cuba, where she continues to live as a fugitive from justice. She remains one of the FBI’s most wanted terrorists.
The “charity” named after this cop-killing woman, according to its website, exists to “develop and train young people, ages 4-19, in the Black queer feminist tradition and in the spirit of Assata.” In other words, the self-described “collective” of “radical Black women” exists to brainwash and indoctrinate young children into hating police, hating America, believing themselves to be perpetual victims, and potentially worse. In a video on the website, some of the group’s members proudly say they are working to abolish prisons and police — seriously. Their logo includes the communist and socialist clenched fist salute that has become ubiquitous at extremist anti-police demonstrations. Their goal: “collective liberation.”
Part of Kaepernick’s donation to the “charity” was earmarked for a program called “Cop Watch.” Among other tactics, this effort encourages and trains cop haters to follow and video tape police as they go about their duties. Those participating in “Cop Watch,” who describe themselves as going out “on patrol,” are urged to go out in pairs, with one documenting events and the other “engaging.” “Challenge Police Violence,” reads the headline across the instruction manual for “How to Cop Watch.” And again, this is coming from a group named after a convicted cop killer! This is what Kaepernick is funding with his “charitable” donations to end “oppression.”
Other elements of Kaepernick’s wardrobe have also revealed his hatred of law enforcement — deliberately. Regarding his infamous socks, which feature little pigs with police hats, Kaepernick confirmed on social media that he was indeed trying to make a statement. “I wore these socks, in the past, because the rogue cops that are allowed to hold positions in police departments, not only put the community in danger, but also put the cops that have the right intentions in danger by creating an environment of tension and mistrust,” he said, without explaining how disrespecting and ridiculing all police officers was supposed to help “cops that have the right intentions.” In an attempt to justify his behavior, Kaepernick went on to claim that he has family and friends in law enforcement, and that his socks should not be “used to distract from the real issues.”
Public Reaction to the Hate
President Trump has been extraordinarily supportive of local and state law enforcement, as well as the military, and so it is perhaps no surprise that he has spoken out against Kaepernick’s antics. “Maybe he should find a country that works better for him,” Trump said about the football player. More recently, he said: “Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, ‘Get that son of a bitch off the field right now?’”
Prominent lawmakers have also spoken out. “Kaepernick charges that America ‘oppresses black people and people of color’ even though America has elected and re-elected an African-American president,” Representative Peter King (R-N.Y.) said while Obama was still president. “If he is reciting the fraudulent Black Lives Matter theme that police are targeting African-Americans, then he is clearly wrong and misguided.”
Some of America’s most popular media figures have also piled on. Fox News host and Trump supporter Sean Hannity, for instance, blasted Kaepernick as “a spoiled brat, out of touch, super rich athlete.” “He, in his own life, has suffered no oppression, he’s free to share all the money he wants, he lives in the greatest nation on earth,” added Hannity, consistently the top-ranked cable television host. Indeed, Kaepernick’s antics proved devastating to the NFL, sending its ratings into a tailspin and causing even lifelong football fans to quit watching the sport and buying tickets. Kaepernick has argued that his protest has led to NFL collusion to deny him a contract.
However, not everyone has shared the disgust over Kaepernick expressed by Trump and many of his supporters. In fact, a sizable segment of the population, and much of the cultural and corporate “elite” in America — from Hollywood and Big Media to the corporate boardroom — has rallied behind the controversial football player. Sports, shoes, and clothing behemoth Nike, for instance, now has a new advertising campaign featuring Kaepernick’s face and the slogan “Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything.” Kaepernick’s anti-police campaign — the “something” in question — has made him into a sort of “hero.”
In 2017, meanwhile, GQ magazine named Kaepernick the “Citizen of the Year” for his anti-law-enforcement activism. That same year, Sports Illustrated gave Kaepernick its “Muhammad Ali Legacy Award,” with singer Beyoncé serving as the presenter. And in 2018, the far-left group Amnesty International gave Kaepernick its Ambassador of Conscience Award for supposedly speaking out “for justice.” Also in 2018, Harvard University gave him the “W.E.B. Du Bois Medal,” named in honor of a card-carrying member of the Soviet-controlled Communist Party. Clearly, powerful people are trying to legitimize Kaepernick’s campaign to delegitimize law enforcement.
Kaepernick says he is a Christian, and says he is only opposed to “bad” police officers, “police brutality,” and the excessive use of force. And yet, his actions suggest something different, something far more sinister. Nobody ever accused Trooper Foerster of any brutality, and yet Kaepernick donated big bucks to an organization named after the trooper’s murderer. The “piggies” on his socks also seem to tell a different tale. Either way, it is clear that the narrative popularized by Kaepernick and his heavy-hitting backers has created a climate in which hostility and even violence against police is far more acceptable — and likely. Law enforcement should continue to push back with the truth.