David West recently said he is unsure if he will stand behind Colin Kaepernick in protesting the national anthem this upcoming season. That could be because the veteran NBA forward has been protesting the anthem in his own way for several years.
Before a preseason game with his new team, the Golden State Warriors, on Saturday, West intentionally stood about two feet behind the rest of his teammates when they lined up for the playing of “The Star-Spangled Banner.” He later told Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated that he has been doing that for years because of issues “a lot deeper” than the one Kaepernick is calling attention to.
“What about education? What about infant mortality? How about how we die younger and our babies die sooner?” West asked Spears. “We die. [Black men] have the shortest life expectancy. C’mon, man. The health care system? There are so many [issues]. It’s like, whatever …
“I can’t start talking about civic issues. I can’t start talking about civility and being a citizen if (expletive) don’t even think I’m a human being. How can you talk about progress and how humans interrelate with one another when you don’t even recognize our humanity? We got to somehow get that straight first so we’re on the same playing field. And that’s how I feel. There is just a lot of stuff, man.”
West said he respects the movement Kaepernick has started, but he fears it will fizzle out without making any real impact.
“What he is doing is great, but I think it’s going to pass, too,” West said. “I’m not as optimistic about everything as everyone always seems to be. I don’t wear it on my sleeve like I used to. I’ve gotten older and a little bit more mature in terms of my thinking. But I understand human rights issues.
“Until you handle humanity, how do you get to talking about mass incarceration? How do you get to talk about our undereducated kids? How do we get to the health care system? How do we get to all that and you don’t even think I’m a human?”
As a show of support for Kaepernick, the Toronto Raptors locked arms during both the American and Canadian national anthems on Saturday. West stuck with his decision to stand two feet behind teammates, which is something he says Chris Paul tried to talk him out of when the two were teammates with the New Orleans Hornets several years ago.
“My work speaks for itself,” West said. “I’m a part of grassroots organizations. I’m about getting outside of this celebrity. Letting people get a real perspective. It’s not just about the corrupt police inside what is supposed to be a serve and protect system. That’s only a small piece of it.”
Unlike NFL players who have chosen to go with demonstrations like this one before games, West’s protest was so subtle it went unnoticed for at least five years. Apparently his reasons are quite personal, otherwise he would have called attention to it sooner.
