Kid Rock Lobs an F-Bomb at Colin Kaepernick

Kid Rock has never been one of those shy musicians who keeps his opinions to himself.

And he doesn’t think much of the protest by San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick and other athletes who have chosen not to stand for the national anthem during professional football games.

“F--- Colin Kaepernick!” Rock — Romeo native Robert James Ritchie offstage — shouted to an approving crowd.

Kaepernick, who is biracial and was adopted and raised by a white family, willingly embroiled himself in controversy last month when he remained seated during the playing of the national anthem in a show of support for the Black Lives Matter movement.

“I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color,” Kaepernick told NFL Media in an exclusive interview after the game. “To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.”

Since then, other NFL players have joined in the protest, including four Miami Dolphins who knelt on one knee as “The Star-Spangled Banner” was played during Sunday’s game against the Seattle Seahawks.

Also during the national anthem before their respective NFL games Sunday, Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Marcus Peters and New England Patriots tight end Martellus Bennett and safety Devin McCourty hoisted their fists in the air in protest.

Sunday was the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks, and the NFL players were widely criticized for protesting on that somber anniversary of the loss of thousands of lives.

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“They say it’s not the time to do this,” Dolphins running back Arian Foster told USA Today after he and three teammates — linebacker Jelani Jenkins, wide receiver Kenny Stills and safety Michael Thomas — knelt in protest.

“When is the time?” Foster said. “It’s never the time in somebody else’s eye, because they’ll always feel like it’s good enough. And some people don’t. That’s the beautiful thing about this country. If somebody feels it’s not good enough, they have that right. That's all we’re doing, exercising that right.”

See Also

• Kid Rock's a Cop. No, Really
• Kid Rock Kills Mountain Lion and Ted Nugent Cackles with Joy
• Publicist: Kid Rock Hasn’t Flown Confederate Flag Since 2010

President Obama said in a press conference last week that Kaepernick has “a constitutional right to make a statement by remaining seated during the national anthem.

“I think there’s a long history of sports figures doing so. I think there are a lot of ways you can do it. As a general matter, when it comes to the flag, and the national anthem, and the meaning it holds for our men and women in uniform and those who fought for us, that is a tough thing for them to get past, to then hear what his deeper concerns are. But I don’t doubt his sincerity, based on what I’ve heard. I think he cares about some real, legitimate issues that have to be talked about. And if nothing else, what he’s done is he’s generated more conversation around some topics that need to be talked about,” Obama said.

Photo by Ralph Arvesen via Flickr Commons