Broncos tackle Russell Okung pens essay in support of Colin Kaepernick
Denver Broncos tackle Russell Okung has written an essay in The Players’ Tribune supporting 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s protest of police brutality.
Kaepernick continued his preseason-long protest Thursday, kneeling during the national anthem to signify his disappointment over racial inequality and other issues in America.
In his essay, Okung says Kaepernick’s protest reminded him of John Carlos and Tommie Smith, the two Olympians who raised their fists in the Black Power salute at the 1968 summer games.
• Support for Kaepernick and his message flourishes
“My challenge to athletes, and to anyone else who has a platform available to them, is to be passionate and creative in your thinking and approach,” Okung writes. “There are so many different ways to address injustice in this country. We can’t all try to solve these problems in the exact same way, and we should welcome a diversity of approaches.”
Okung ends the essay thanking Kaepernick for “reigniting the conversation and the movement for change.”
Okung is not the only player to have supported Kaepernick publicly, with 49ers safety Eric Reid kneeling alongside the quarterback Thursday, and Seahawks cornerback Jeremy Lane sitting during the anthem before Seattle’s final preseason game.
