Former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick compares the NFL Draft’s combine process to slavery in his new Netflix special “Colin in Black & White.”
The first episode of the six-part drama series likens likens the draft to enslaved people being placed on the auction block and examined before being sold to bidders.
“What they don’t want you to understand is what’s being established is a power dynamic,” Kaepernick says in the documentary series.
“Before they put you on the field, teams poke, prod and examine you searching for any defect that might affect your performance. No boundary respect. No dignity left intact.”
The Netflix special then cuts to a scene of NFL hopefuls, portrayed by Black actors, moving from a football field to an auction block, morphing into slaves with shackles on them.
Among the critics of Kaepernick’s analogy was former NFL player Jack Brewer, who once called former President TrumpDonald TrumpStunning survey gives grim view of flourishing anti-democratic opinions Southwest investigating report pilot said ‘Let’s go Brandon’ on flight Texas police refused requests to escort Biden bus surrounded by Trump supporters: report MORE the “first Black president.”
“He has an evil, anti-American spirit and it’s sick and disgusting,” Brewer said of Kaepernick on Fox News on Monday.
“That even Netflix, someone that big and popular, would even put something out like that, to penetrate the mind of these kids should be illegal,” he added.
The series, co-created by Kaepernick and director Ava DuVernay, focuses on the star quarterback’s “formative years navigating race, class and culture while aspiring for greatness,” according to its Netflix page.
Kaepernick, who played professionally for the San Francisco 49ers, sparked controversy in 2016 for kneeling during the national anthem at multiple games to protest police brutality and racial inequality in the U.S.
Former President Trump referred to Kaepernick’s protest in a 2017 speech at a rally where he called on NFL owners to punish players who protested during the national anthem.
“Colin in Black and White,” premiered on the streaming platform Friday.
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