The entire national anthem protest controversy around the NFL continues to take an ugly turn.
On the heels of San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick indicating that he’s received death threats, comes this from Miami Dolphins safety Michael Thomas.
#Dolphins safety Michael Thomas told @JamesWalkerNFL that he's received death threats for kneeling during the national anthem.
— Rand Getlin (@RandGetlin) September 21, 2016
Kaepernick and Thomas were teammates with the San Francisco 49ers back in 2012. The latter joined his former quarterback in protesting perceived injustices in the United States back in Week 1, and has continued taking a knee for the anthem.
No matter where we stand on this issue, it has to be viewed as appalling that an African-American man would receive death threats for engaging in non-violent civil protest.
Haven’t we supposedly come a long way from the race-based hatred that represented this country decades back? Apparently not.
For Kaepernick’s part, he doesn’t seem to be too alarmed about the death threats. Though, we can be sure that both the 49ers and the NFL are taking this matter seriously. The same can be said for Thomas and the Dolphins.