ESPN personality Max Kellerman said Thursday that the NFL 'injects' politics into the game by playing the national anthem.
Kellerman was discussing comments Seattle Seahawks defensive lineman Michael Bennett made comparing free agent quarterback Colin Kaepernick to Muhammad Ali.
“They both were asked to do things that went against their conscience,” he said.
"In Muhammad Ali’s case, he was asked to take a step forward and become a part of the Vietnam War, and he was against it on religious and moral and ethical principles, and he refused to take the step and he faced five years jail time but was ultimately vindicated in a Supreme Court case. OK, but he did have his prime stripped, his license revoked and he couldn’t earn a living for four years, all that."
Likewise, Kaepernick “also did not go looking for a protest,” he said. “It came to him.”
“He was asked to stand for the national anthem,” Kellerman continued. “ You do not have to stand for the national anthem. And even if it it was a rule that you did, is that Colin Kaepernick injecting politics in the NFL? No. That’s the NFL injecting politics by playing the national anthem and putting pressure on you to stand for it in the first place.”
No wonder ESPN's ratings continue to decline.