With white NFL players now showing unity with their national anthem-protesting black teammates, ESPN’s Will Cain believes the protest has become so “watered down” that the protests are coming to a “conclusion.”
Cain said Tuesday on “First Take” that since none of the players protesting have offered solutions, the protests have now shifted from police brutality to white players just showing they support their black teammates.
“What we are seeing is this: the end of the national anthem protest,” predicted Cain. “It is coming to a conclusion, and it is doing so because it has now been watered down. When Colin Kaepernick first took a knee, he took it, and he identified police brutality, aggressive policing techniques, he broadened it to things like oppression to inequality.
He continued, “It was broadened yet more by Michael Bennett and broadened yet more by Malcolm Jenkins, who speaks very eloquently on various issues, to the point where Chris Long is now in support of his teammate, a perfectly acceptable and respectable stance to take. And Khalil Mack and Derek Carr showing a sense of unity, as though the debate was whether ever or not black guys and white guys can be friends. We have various and real issues in our country, but the only way to address them is to identify them specifically and seek for solutions.”
“We haven’t moved forward,” Cain added. “I am telling you it’s because we haven’t in a year’s time specifically identified a problem to solve and moved forward with that. And because of that, these protests are now so watered down that it’s just whether or not white guys and black guys can stand together, bringing them to their conclusion.”
Follow Trent Baker on Twitter @MagnifiTrent
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