Fmr. Detroit Lions LB: I would give anything to shake Colin Kaepernick's hand
NFL players kneeling during the national anthem before games has become a hotly debated issue since last season. Now some players are participating in the NFL owners’ annual fall meeting to discuss the issue.
Caleb Campbell, former Army ranger and former Detroit Lions linebacker, spoke with the FOX Business Network’s Neil Cavuto, saying, “Probably not the most popular opinion, but, it was about the protest, I mean it was about police brutality Neil. I can honestly say that I would give anything to shake Colin Kaepernick’s hand, I honestly would.”
Campbell said that his upbringing in a Texas town with no African-Americans influenced his perceptions early on, saying, “Because of my upbringing and because of the world in that I experienced growing up in this small Texas panhandle Bible Belt town, I could not for the life of me comprehend, when I would hear about police brutality, when I would hear about unarmed black people being shot for no reason…my first thought was, ‘they must have done something to deserve it.’”
But Campbell says Kaepernick’s national anthem protest changed his view.
“That was honest to God my first thought, until Colin. Because I could not fathom this reality that you could be shot because of your skin color.”
According to Campbell, the NFL has mishandled the whole situation.
“I’m unfortunately very displeased with [NFL commissioner] Roger Goodell. I think there are and there have been double standards time and time again with this entire issue from Colin kneeling when this began last year, late last year, and also with what’s happening now.”
Campbell believes the NFL needs to take a stance on the issue, saying on Cavuto: Coast to Coast, “I think that the NFL, they need to come out with actually a standard operating procedure, an actual protocol. And listen, if you do kneel, that means you’re going to get fined just like if you wear pink outside of the month of October.”