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| USA TODAY
Ed Reed on NFL Social Justice End Zone messages: “ We know these messages … what are we really doing? ”
SportsPulse: Mackenzie Salmon has teamed up with Hall of Fame Safety Ed Reed to get his thoughts on the new NFL social justice message that will be featured in the End Zones this year. Reed has been pretty straightforward about the meaning of the “messages” at this point.
USA TODAY
While reflecting on a season with former San Francisco 49ers teammate Colin Kaepernick, Alex Smith says Kaepernick’s absence from football is a tragedy.
“It’s so tragic to watch him. I think (Kaepernick) was ahead of his time, certainly trying to speak out against social injustice, especially around police reform,” said the quarterback. Washington football team on The Ringer’s 10 Questions podcast with Kyle Brandt.
“The country was not ready,” Smith said. “No one was ready for that. And he’s setting there trying to tell everyone in a totally peaceful way some of the things that have been going on in this country for a long time, and seeing the negative reactions that have happened, that Hurts. It hurts to look back at him. The country was not ready for that, and he took the repercussions. “
When Kaepernick took a knee in 2016 during the national anthem to peacefully protest police brutality and systemic racism in America, he faced a national backlash. Kaepernick became a free agent at the end of the 2016-17 season after relinquishing his 49ers contract and has not played down the NFL since.
Smith remembers Kaepernick as a calm, respectful and talented teammate, saying that “it still doesn’t make sense” that Kaepernick no longer plays in the league.
Smith, 36, and Kaepernick, 33, played together in San Francisco in 2011 and 2012. Kaepernick was the 49ers’ starting quarterback in 2012, the year they reached the Super Bowl. In his first NFL playoff start, Kaepernick led the 49ers to an NFC West Division victory over the Green Bay Packers, rushing for an NFL record 181 yards. Kaepernick then led the 49ers to a championship victory over the Atlanta Falcons before missing Super Bowl 47 against the Baltimore Ravens.
“The run he did at the end of last year when we were together and then went to the Super Bowl & mldr; was so crazy to watch, “said Smith.” Truly one of the historic races in football. It’s crazy to come forward quickly only a few days later that he was out of the league. I couldn’t even grasp it. I couldn’t understand it. It still doesn’t make sense.
“Obviously he was incredibly brave and I’m definitely proud of him even to know him and what he did,” Smith said. “He lost his livelihood. Probably one of the guys, I felt like I had the best future ahead of him. Fast forward a few years later and I think we were all like, ‘he was trying obviously telling us something and knew it. ‘To see what happened last year and hopefully continue to happen in the future, you hope (Kaepernick) will be a part of the answer and solution.
Contact Analis Bailey at [email protected] or on Twitter @analisbailey.
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