Photo of 'lynched' Colin Kaepernick doll hanging off truck sparks outrage: 'Racist no matter the intention'
A woman posted a photo of a doll resembling former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick hanging by its neck on a truck in San Jose, California, calling the driver’s action "racist no matter the intention."
Joanna Acevedo was at a Safeway gas station when she saw the doll hanging from the truck's trailer hitch by a metal chain on Tuesday, NBC Los Angeles reported. She took a photo of the doll hanging by a chain and shared it on Twitter.
"Car with a lynched Colin Kaepernick Doll in San Jose, CA. And they swear Bay Area is free of hate,” she wrote.
Some Twitter commenters said that the doll was likely signifying a sports rivalry. One person tweeted, "I think this is more of a Bay Area sports rivalry thing than a racist thing. It’s not a good look tho. But I don’t think the intent was racist. Just a [f***] up way to show hate towards the 49ers.”
Another added, “It’s a Raiders fan.”
But Acevedo believes the implications are clear, and not the work of an overzealous Oakland fan.
"This is racist no matter the intention (ie. Raiders v niner rivalry)," Acevedo tweeted. Others agreed with Acevedo’s take.
Kaepernick is not a 49er. Hasn't played for them in years. No longer plays football. You think labeling this as team rivalry won't make anyone look biased & it's good clean sporting fun. Good gawd it's astonishing even now how far & illogical people will go to defend racism.
— Fruitvale Local (@fruitvalelocal) April 24, 2019
That’s what makes me believe it most likely is racially/patriotically motivates. It made me uncomfortable seeing a black figure hanged regardless of their reason. It truly disturbed me for the rest of the day.
— ilene (@IleneJarquin) April 25, 2019
Kaepernick stirred controversy in 2016 when he took a knee during "The Star-Spangled Banner," an act of protest against police brutality and to draw attention to racial and social injustices in the United States.
While the silent protest inspired other athletes, spanning several sports, to perform a similar demonstration, some critics believed the action shows blatant disrespect to the American flag.
“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 told NFL Media in 2016. “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.”
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