Stay Connected
Atlanta Black Star/Culture
CultureEntertainmentSports

Colin Kaepernick Honors Muhammad Ali While T-Shirt with Rifle Scope on Him Sold Outside Stadium

By | Published on October 17, 2016
CommentsComments (0) Add as a preferred source on Google i
Colin Kaepernick (Facebook)

Colin Kaepernick (Facebook)

Colin Kaepernick’s Muhammad Ali shirt could not protect him from the rifle target-themed tee bought by football fans Sunday in New York.

The starting quarterback faced many unsupportive fans as he and the San Francisco 49ers arrived to play the Buffalo Bills Oct. 16.

Kaepernick donned an Ali shirt, which pointed to the political nature of both athletes during their careers. At a press conference, Kaepernick explained he wore the shirt “to pay homage.”

“He fought a very similar fight,” he said. “And was trying to do what’s right for the people. And for me to be able to have someone like that come before me – it’s huge.”

Kaepernick’s arrival sparked vitriol among Bills fans. A Sports Illustrated writer tweeted images of threatening shirts about Kaepernick sold outside New Era Field.

One featured a rifle scope trained on the protesting NFLer, and another had Kaepernick’s kneeling silhouette with the caption, “Shut up and Stand Up” with an expletive-laden take on his name.

The shirt takes aim at Kaepernick taking a knee during the national anthem to protest the oppression of Black lives.  Each item sold for $10.

An intoxicated Bills fan who dressed a dummy in the 49ers player’s jersey and an Afro wig added to the disdain for Kaepernick. The man tackled the dummy as the American flag waved from behind.

However, a group of fans supported the 49er by kneeling during the national anthem. According to a Facebook event page for Kneel for Racial Justice at the Bills Game, fans gathered at a tailgate to back Kaepernick. They also protested police brutality against Black Americans.

“We’re still Bills fans,” one organizer, Caitlin Blue, told USA Today. “We just recognize the NFL uses Black and brown bodies for entertainment, as long as they don’t have opinions.”

In Harper Bishop’s Facebook video, participants took a knee outside the stadium during the national anthem. Some locked arms and others raised their fists.

“Buffalo, New York is one of the poorest and most segregated cities in the country with a deeply racist history,” Bishop wrote in the video caption. “The action was meant to bring attention to local racial justice fights, support Kaepernick and inspire others around the country to continue demonstrations of support.”

He completed the post with the hashtag #BillsFans4BlackLives.

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.

Give once Give monthly Support another way

Latest from Atlanta Black Star

Back to top