He revealed that although he didn’t directly oppose Kaepernick joining the team, he definitely didn’t support it. It wasn’t just the fact that Lewis did not support the move that rubbed me the wrong way; it was his reasoning behind it. He made it clear that he did not like the method in which Kaepernick chose to protest the injustices in this country. He made it clear that he wanted Kaepernick to focus strictly on football and not continue his crusade for the struggle of Black and Brown people. And when confronted by Shannon Sharpe about his comments he responded with “what about all the killings in Baltimore?”
The exchange show the true colors of Ray Lewis. He is one of those Black folks that brings up Blacks killing Blacks when you bring up the fact that police officers are killing unarmed Black men. However, as Sharpe pointed out, “when Pookie kill someone, he is going to jail.” The dialogue between Sharpe and Lewis was not an argument or a public display of ignorance between two Black men. What it highlighted was the division of Black folks who value their position in this society to the point that they will ignore righteousness and truth. In comparison, Sharpe has at least given credence to the issue of obvious matter of genocide in regards to Blacks getting killed by authorities. Depending on what side you on, watching the debate will intensify your beliefs or make you more upset. Here is the clip of the video below.
On one end it is refreshing to see someone like Shannon Sharpe who is speaking on behalf what is really going in the Black community. On the other hand, Black folks like Ray Lewis is prevalent throughout media, and positions of power that help determines if Colin Kaepernick gets another shot at football. We see people like Charles Barkley, Stephen A. Smith and Ray Lewis criticize Kaepernick to some degree that help sway the opinions of White folks who didn’t like what he did in the first place. Traditionally within the Black community, we have categorized each individual in different terms. We applaud people like Sharpe who take a stance regardless of their fame and status. In comparison, some of us turn a side eye to people like Lewis, who believe in “get all the money you can get and help who you want later.” In more extreme cases, one is refer to as a house nigga versus a real or field nigga. Rapper and podcaster Willie D referred to Ray Lewis as a coon. Check out the video below.