Mark Cuban defends Colin Kaepernick's decision to protest national anthem and US flag
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On Friday night, Colin Kaepernick sat in protest during the national anthem prior to the San Francisco 49ers' preseason game, saying he is "not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses Black people and people of color."
The move caused a firestorm from those who rebuked the move of protesting the very thing that gives him the rights to protest and from those who praised him for using his platform as a star athlete to become a social activist.
One of those who defended Kaepernick was Mark Cuban, who took to Twitter to offer a level-headed perspective. Cuban noted that he may disagree with Kaepernick's message but praised him for showing that protest can be both peaceful and effective.
1)He didnt:throw a bomb,fire a shot,start a riot,throw a punch,shut a business, yell at someone, troll anyone. He just sat there quietly.
2) I may not understand his perspective or agree with him.But colin kaepernick taught us we can still disagree in this country, peacefully
- Mark Cuban (@mcuban) August 28, 2016
3) and I know I'll get shit for anything that remotely suggests support of colin kaepernick, which makes my point even more.
- Mark Cuban (@mcuban) August 28, 2016
Cuban is right. It is incredible to think that one person can cause so much discussion by doing nothing but sitting down. There are certainly many worse and possibly less effective ways Kaepernick could have chosen to deliver his message.
Cuban later added one more comment as a reply to somebody else. That person's tweet has since been deleted, so it is not clear what Cuban was replying to, but his tweet expressed how he would raise his kids to act both during the national anthem and in general.
"I'll teach my kids to stand, with their hand on their heart, love this country and consider the opinion of every one in it," Cuban wrote.
If you click on the photo in this tweet from Jennifer Lee Chan, you can see Kaepernick sitting next to the Gatorade coolers during the national anthem.
Colin Kaepernick did not stand during the National Anthem - my picture provides proof. https://t.co/NZ2OIceBxA
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