No professional athlete has been more outspoken about social issues this year than Colin Kaepernick, so you would think Tuesday would have been a huge day for him. Believe it or not, Kaepernick didn’t even vote in the presidential election.
Kaepernick, who has said in the past that he does not believe in the policies of Donald Trump nor Hillary Clinton, told reporters on Tuesday that he chose not to go to the polls. That infuriated Stephen A. Smith, who said on ESPN’s “First Take” Wednesday that Kaepernick is a “flaming hypocrite.”
"For him not to vote…as far as I'm concerned, everything he said meant absolutely nothing!"
– @stephenasmith on Colin Kaepernick pic.twitter.com/gShvVfVoAt
— First Take (@FirstTake) November 9, 2016
“As far as I’m concerned Colin Kaepernick is absolutely irrelevant,” Smith said. “I don’t want to see him again. I don’t want to hear from him again. I don’t want to hear a damn word he has to say about our nation, the issues we have, racial injustices, needing change, etc.
“Him of all people, because of the position he took, because of the attention he brought to the issues — the fact that you don’t even have the decency to go to the polls and activate yourself in this election is a damn shame.”
Smith added that Kaepernick is lucky to still be on an NFL roster.
“He comes across as a flaming hypocrite,” he said. “Quite frankly, I hope he goes away. He’s lucky to be in the league right now.”
That’s about the hardest we’ve seen any analyst go after Kaepernick since this former NFL quarterback unloaded on him. Many people did not want to choose between Clinton and Trump, but it’s surprising that Kaepernick took no interest in the U.S. Senate race or proposition votes, either. While that’s his right as an American, you’d think he would want a say.
