Colin Kaepernick, reporter debate over Fidel Castro t-shirt
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick got into a debate with a reporter at a press conference over a Fidel Castro and Malcolm X t-shirt that Kaepernick wore in August.
Kaepernick was asked about why he wore a shirt that showed the Cuban dictator.
“I’m not talking about Fidel Castro and his oppression,” Kaepernick said. “I’m talking about Malcolm X and what he’s done for people.”
The reporter followed up by asking Kaepernick why he was uncomfortable for changing the subject.
“One thing that Fidel Castro did do is they have the highest literacy rate because they invest more in their education system than they do in their prison system,” Kaepernick replied. “Which we do not do here, even though we’re fully capable of doing that.”
“We do break up families here,” Kaepernick added. “That’s what mass incarceration is. That was the foundation of slavery. So our country has been based on that as well as the genocide of Native Americans.”
Kaepernick has emerged as one of the most outspoken athletes in sports after he decided to take a knee during the national anthem before NFL games to raise awareness of racial injustice in America. Kaepernick recently came under fire after it was revealed that he did not vote in the 2016 Presidential Election.
The 49ers are 1–9 on the season. Kaepernick has started five games on the season.
