49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick explains why he didn't vote last Tuesday
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick got a lot of headlines early this season for his political views, and he got a lot more headlines when he said he didn’t vote in last Tuesday’s election.
It seemed like a contradiction. He took a knee for the national anthem, hoping for change in how minorities are treated, but didn’t vote in a very important election. He was criticized by many for not voting (Dan Wetzel broke down all the reasons why he thought Kaepernick looked foolish for his stance), and it’s easy to see why.
What we didn’t really have was an explanation by Kaepernick on why he didn’t vote. Jennifer Chan of Niners Nation posted his reasons.
Q: Would you explain why you didn’t vote?
Kaepernick: “I think it would hypocritical for me to vote. I said from the beginning I was against oppression, I was against the system of oppression. I’m not going to show support for that system. To me, the oppressor isn’t going to let you vote your way out of your oppression.”
Kaepernick had previously been critical of the two top presidential candidates, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. His reason for not voting is obviously complicated, and surely there will be people who strongly agree and disagree with his view.
At least we know why Kaepernick didn’t submit a ballot last week.
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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
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