Shannon Sharpe is too real. Called out one of his best friends, saying he was disappointed in Ray Lewis. pic.twitter.com/0cOTGPMrIN
— Jasmine (@JasmineLWatkins) September 25, 2017
Shannon Sharpe has a bristling take on one of his “very best friends,” Ray Lewis, kneeling during Sunday’s Baltimore Ravens versus Jacksonville Jaguars game. The FS1 “Undisputed” host said he was skeptical of Lewis suddenly coming around to protest the national anthem after the former Ravens linebacker continuously decried Colin Kaepernick for starting the movement last season.
“I’m very disappointed in one of my very best friends, Ray Lewis,” Sharpe says on-air Monday, Sept. 25. “Ray Lewis sat in that chair right there and said he could never kneel, he could never not stand for the national anthem because so many people died and he had family members that fight for this country … and the flag means so much to him and he kneeled. Not on one knee — on both knees. So what are you kneeling for?”
“I’m 100 percent for racial justice, 100 percent,” Lewis said on “Undisputed” in July. “Trust me, I lived it myself. So you don’t have to convince me of that part. How he did it? Totally different thing. I don’t totally agree with that.”
Related: More On Ray Lewis’ History with Colin Kaepernick’s Protest
Ray Lewis Claims This Tweet from Kaepernick’s Girlfriend is to Blame for His Ongoing Free Agency
Sharpe speculated that his pal wasn’t refusing to stand for the national anthem out of solidarity for Black oppression, as Kaepernick did. But it was actually because Donald Trump called for athletes who protest to be fired or suspended.
“And that’s what I find so ironic about this, Skip,” Sharpe says. “The very people that said they would never, ever kneel — I just want to know what are you unifying against? … Are you showing solidarity against racism or the [injustice] that’s in this country? Or are you showing solidary against President Trump and what he said? His attack on the very NFL … because what we know about above all else, those 32 [coaches] and the commissioner, will protect that NFL shield at all costs against all foreign and domestic [ememies]. President Trump had to find that out the hard way.”
Sharpe wasn’t the only person left scratching his head over the switch up. Many on Twitter were confused, too.
Ray lewis spent the whole summer criticizing Colin Kaepernick & wouldn't offer him a Job, now he's taking a knee pic.twitter.com/EsuHhKohJE
— Adam Weebay (@AdamWeebay) September 24, 2017
https://twitter.com/pc_leed/status/911948032555528193
https://twitter.com/mrgetchurite/status/911947661791522816
