Writer Jason Riley thinks NFL stars can do more than protest the national anthem to stop police brutality. The Wall Street Journal columnist says he doesn’t question the players’ patriotism. But he doesn’t agree there’s been an increase in police brutality against Black people. So, although Riley knows the truth about what they’re protesting, he disagrees with the players’ stance.
“While I would agree there’s been an increase in the coverage of the shootings — thanks mostly to social media — that’s not the same thing as saying there’s been an increase in the shootings,” Riley tells “Fox & Friends” Friday, Sept. 29.
He added there had been a 90 percent decrease in police shootings in New York City between 1971 and 2015.
“A Black economist at Harvard, Roland Fryer, put out a study in 2016 that said Black suspects are less likely than white suspects to be shot by police,” Riley says. “So, again, I’m challenging the narrative that they’ve been protesting.”
Riley doesn’t think NFL players taking a knee on the field is making an impact. Instead, he suggests athletes take the Shaquille O’Neal approach.
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“If these players wanted to play a constructive role, I think they could be saying to young Black kids out there, ‘When the police say, ‘Stop,’ stop,” Riley says. “Don’t resist arrest. Fight them in the courts, not in the street. Most of these incidents that we’ve seen that have been played up in the media involve resisting arrest. And so I think the lesson to be learned here is to obey the police when they ask you to do something.”
According to the columnist, protesting athletes don’t have their facts right. And Riley believes they’re being taken advantage of by “civil rights advocates who find this convenient.”
