Michael Strahan Sounds off About Racial Inequality During Fox Segment

FOX’s NFL morning show returned on Sunday ahead of Week 1, prompting excitement among fans. Analyst Michael Strahan turned heads during one segment as he spoke about racial inequality and the ongoing protests around the country. Strahan referenced previous protests in history and said that the biggest difference is that people who “aren’t Black and Brown” are joining in.

“Whenever you have this conversation and people who are not black and brown join, it goes from a conversation to actually action. And we are seeing action now because of that,” Strahan said. “I think sometimes when you see athletes and they say ‘just play your sport, be quiet, don’t have an opinion, you make plenty of money.’ You’re not immune to it. You still are affected by it in some way, shape or form because of the color of your skin.”

As Strahan continued to explain, he said that sports teach everyone camaraderie and to work together. He also said that players are using the lessons taught to them throughout their lives to help others. Strahan expressed hope that people would take the lessons and just love each other regardless of the color of their skin.

Following Strahan’s comments, the other analysts voiced similar sentiments. Terry Bradshaw said that color doesn’t matter in the locker rooms and that the players just love each other. Howie Long also talked about the first time that he saw Colin Kaepernick kneel during the national anthem and said that his first reaction was to question why the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback was doing so. Long said he was embarrassed by this reaction.

Curt Menefee capped off the discussion by touching about the terms used when discussing Kaepernick and the other NFL players. He said that people referred to the kneeing as “protesting the national anthem” and that this isn’t what was actually taking place. Menefee said that the players were simply “demonstrating,” which is a key difference.

“First of all, players aren’t protesting the national anthem,” Menefee said. “They are demonstrating during the national anthem. What they are protesting is what’s off the field — police brutality, social injustice. They’re demonstrating during the national anthem. And words matter, and we use that word ‘protest the national anthem’ too much, which allowed it to get hijacked and taken way off the rails.”