Charlamagne Tha God has been vocal about quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s ongoing free agency and was asked if he would stop watching NFL games to boycott the apparent blackballing, leading to an answer that may be unexpected.
“I’m not even gonna lie to you, no,” he says during a Q&A on The Bobby Jones Show Tuesday, May 9. “I’m going to watch football in August. But what I will do is continue to support Colin the way that I have been. I’ll go to his Know Your Rights Camp and I’ll offer my mentorship, offer my time. If he needs donations to get his Know Your Rights Camps moving, I will offer that, too. I support Colin in anything he does, but I’m gonna watch football in August.”
The question asker said continuing to watch the NFL will force Black people to support what the league is doing to Kaepernick. He said Black people should use their money to back Kaepernick rather than backing media or “the system that’s putting us down.”
“I’m with you, but I’ma still watch football,” Charlamagne responds. “I honestly just don’t think that’s realistic to get people to stop watching football. I don’t see it. Because when you do that, it’s a lot of brothers that are getting paid from the NFL. … So, we’re affecting their livelihood by boycotting the NFL, as well.”
The man responded by saying Kaepernick stood up against Black oppression and said a boycott could be considered since the NFL, which has fans that haven’t warmly regarded Kaepernick since he refused to stand for the national anthem last season, keeps getting Black dollars.
Yet, Charlamagne wondered if Kaepernick was ultimately meant to play football at all.
“Colin Kaepernick might be meant to be an activist,” he says. “Football may not even be his thing anymore. … God may be taking him away from the NFL so he can solely focus on his activism.”
