Even if you don’t agree with him, you at least have to give Jason Whitlock credit for being consistent.
During an interview with Outkick, the 53-year-old was asked about what he would say to Colin Kaepernick’s supporters now in the wake of NFL commissioner Roger Goodell admitting the league was wrong not to allow players to protest by kneeling during the national anthem, a practice the former 49ers quarterback pioneered.
Whitlock, who previously argued Kaepernick’s crusade was “stupid” because he was attempting to fix people’s feelings as opposed to changing laws, refused to give the former quarterback any credit.
“What was he right about? That police brutality is bad? I’ve never met anyone who believes police brutality is good,” Whitlock said. “Police brutality is a societal issue that impacts all demographics. Police brutality is an abuse of power and authority. Racializing the discussion of police brutality prevents us from framing the discussion properly and framing it in a way that moves us toward progress. It’s a mistake to trivialize the heinous crime that happened to George Floyd by making it a discussion about a quarterback who used the issue to promote his Nike brand and a signature gym shoe.”
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Later in the interview, he added: “Police brutality is a complex issue that cannot be improved by symbolism and gestures on a football field.”
That overall attitude reflects the message in a tweet that Whitlock, who was the host of Speak For Yourself on FSI up until last week, has pinned to the top of his Twitter timeline.
Think it through. You're being played again. pic.twitter.com/iL8usNpzeC
— Jason Whitlock (@WhitlockJason) May 2, 2020
It’s no surprise Whitlock is continuing to go after Kaepernick when given the opportunity, as he has been a consistent critic of the 32-year-old’s former method of protest.
“If his goal is to raise awareness around the issue of unfair policing involving black men, he is using a silence tactic no other activist has ever used and, at this point, it’s fair to question the effectiveness of his strategy,” he wrote in a 2017 op-ed for the Wall Street Journal.
Whitlock also used to openly mock Kaepernick on his show:
Great to have Kap stop by the studio today. pic.twitter.com/2UPuyCdWdK
— Jason Whitlock (@WhitlockJason) September 6, 2017
Since he’s no longer working for Fox Sports, Whitlock is looking into starting his own direct-to-consumer business a la media personalities like Bill Simmons and Dave Portnoy.
How continuing to attack Kaepernick will affect that endeavor remains to be seen.
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