Jason Whitlock Dismisses Kaepernick’s Protest Because Getting Killed by a Cop is ‘Nearly Impossible’ 

On the Sept. 6 edition of FOX Sports One’s “Speak For Yourself,” commentator Jason Whitlock calls San Francisco 49ers QB Colin Kaepernick’s protest a fad.

Whitlock believes Kaepernick is only protesting to improve his brand as a QB.

He adds that police brutality is a “hot take” — provocative commentary to spark emotional reaction — and says the violence in Chicago is more pressing.

“… The whole police brutality thing is a hot take,” Whitlock starts. “Everybody loves a hot take because it is good for clicks, retweets, likes and popularity and relevancy … This is the new version of the dab.”

Later on in the clip, the commentator dismisses  Kaepernick’s protest altogether because 500 people have died in Chicago with little to no outrage.

“Five hundred people have been killed in Chicago already … No one is talking about that … Getting killed by a cop is very hard. And if you don’t run from ’em, it’s damn-near impossible.”

Subscribe To The ABS Newsletter — Get our stories in your inbox.

Independent journalism still matters.

We hope this story was worth your time. For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed Black-owned and independently run. We didn't get here by waiting on ad budgets that were never built to prioritize us. Our readers did that.

Corporate support for Black media has always been thin. Outlets like ours get roughly 1% of the $170 billion spent on U.S. advertising each year, and that margin is shrinking further as advertisers walk back the DEI-linked commitments they made in 2020. That's the backdrop. It's not why we're asking.

The wider picture isn't any steadier. Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under, it's rarely the ones built to center a Black perspective from the ground up that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Latest from Atlanta Black Star

Back to top