The Internet is currently in a storm of controversy over remarks made by Donald Trump Friday when he said, “Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners when somebody disrespects our flag say ‘Get that son of a b-tch off the field right now’? He’s fired.’ “
As a result, many NFL players on Sunday protested during the national anthem by kneeling or not appearing on the field at all, and many people have used social media to offer their opinion on the topic.
Videos by PopCulture.com
Grey’s Anatomy star Jesse Williams was one of those people, with the actor sharing a comic featuring former San Francisco ’49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who famously began kneeling during the national anthem in 2016.
#TakeaKnee #TakeTheKnee pic.twitter.com/ydvoZ6UAC0
โ jesse Williams. (@iJesseWilliams) September 24, 2017
The comic shows Kaepernick kneeling in his ’49ers jersey as a man in an American flag shirt points to him and says, “That’s offensive!” On the other side of the man is a dead body whose shirt reads “unarmed black men,” with the comic seemingly implying that many people are more offended by athletes kneeling than by the killing of unarmed individuals.
During an interview with MSNBC over the weekend, Williams further commented on the controversy, questioning why the anthem is even played before NFL games in the first place.
“I think, Thomas, it’s also important to realize that this anthem thing is a scam,” he told the interviewer. “This is not actually part of football. This was invented in 2009 from the government paying the NFL to market military recruitment โ to get more people to go off and fight wars to die. This has nothing to do with NFL or American pastime or tradition. This is to get boys and girls to go fly overseas and go kill people. They’re marketing. They’re pumping millions and millions of dollars into the NFL to put on a pageant in front of NFL football games to get you to go off and fight.”
Williams also shared several more tweets regarding the controversy.
No group of people has ever received respect without demanding it of themselves. #TakeAKneeโฆ https://t.co/vMPU6huft7
โ jesse Williams. (@iJesseWilliams) September 25, 2017
Report: At least 50 teams were paid by Department of Defense for patriotic displays – The Washington Post https://t.co/CpLRO0Cc2H
โ jesse Williams. (@iJesseWilliams) September 25, 2017
Photo Credit: Shutterstock.com