We are about to start one of america's great events
of course that’s superbowl weekend.
I’m gonna continue to stand with the
people that are being oppressed.
When there is significant change,
and I feel like that flag represents what
it’s supposed to represent, I’ll stand.
I’m Francis Maxwell.
I’m Van Lathan.
and I’m not watching the Superbowl.
I’m not watching the superbowl.
here’s why.
This is the first year I haven’t watched it,
it’s much more difficult than I thought
it was going to be.
I knew who the saints were before
I knew who some of the great black leaders who shaped my mind
are right. I think the NFL has exposed itself as a racist
cartel, at worst, At best they’ve exposed themselves as
someone who would rather be part of the
problem than be part of the solution.
The NFL did what mainstream america has done to black
and brown people for so long, they attempted to silence the message.
“The result? smith and carlos were suspended by the
U.S team and scorned by the media as unpatriotic.”
If you just replace the name
Dr John Carlos or Tommie smith
with Colin Kaepernick you’re going
to see the exact same rhetoric, you’re going
to see the same means of vilification.
Trying to not only silence the message,
but deflect, make it seem like they
aren’t for the country themselves.
So when I read about this happening in 1968.
Any time any racial instance comes up the country,
people claim you are ripping off
the historical bandaid,
or we are living in a ‘post racial society’
and talking about it only brings it up,
they are almost making their point against
themselves because if you’re saying you are ripping
off the historical bandaid, if underneath is a gaping wound,
then a bandaid is never going to work.
“Cops are getting paid leave for killing people. that’s not right.”
If you’re not willing to give up
what you enjoy for what is neccessary,
you’re not going to get what you want.
I have a problem watching a brother,
stand up for me, then lose it all.
If someone stands up for me, and they lose it all,
I cannot see supporting the person
that took it from them.
There was a poll that was released,
white people like the organisation more from the polling,
and black people less, since the player protest,
what does that say to you?
It has to do with the definition of what is american.
To me one of the most american things you can do,
the foundation of the country was a bunch of guys that felt
like they weren’t being represented so they decided they
weren’t going to pay their taxes.
So when you see something wrong with
where you are, taking action against the injustices
that you see, is the most american thing you can do.
It tells me that that version the true definition of america,
that a lot of people don’t subscribe to it.
Those people looked at that protest
as not someone who wanted more inclusion,
but as someone who was a threat to their version of america.
And that’s sad, it’s sad that it seems to me that people are
revelling in the fact that for lack of a better word,
a n****r got put in his place.
Looking at the NFL not just
as an organisation but as an
extension of the mindset of what’s going on.
Football fans aren’t racist, people are racist,
and football is just an extension of that racism
and it’s amplified.
It’s interesting.
I don’t know what would make me watch again.
Colin Kaepernick still wants to play in the NFL.
I think what I want to see the NFL do, which in a way they
never did, is address the problem.
Have the NFL said we’re going to do
a little bit more outreach in these areas,
we’re going to use Kaepernick or Eric reid,
or any of the guys to speak that.
It wouldn’t have taken a huge chunk, what’ve
taken is them listening and understanding that there’s a
problem one of their premier athletes sees.
Someone like Kenny Stills, who is
literally emboldening the message and
encompassing everything that Kaepernick wanted going forth is
that someone listens, and addresses, and finds the focal
point of the problem and goes head on to address it.
And by the way, Kaep is pliable, he is movable,
he’s not trying to burn the whole house down,
he’s just trying to make sure that people
have a safe place to sit. And i’m just not for the silencing,
I’m not for the marginalization.
I’m not for the ignoring of the problem
the colluding, it makes them look evil.
So, we are were we are.
I’m Francis Maxwell.
I’m Van Lathan.
And I’m not watching the superbowl. 108 00:05:10,076 --> 00:00:00,000 I’m not watching the superbowl.