NFL Hall of Famer Joe Namath appears on Fox News on a regular basis, but his appearance on Fox & Friends this Tuesday didn’t go along with the show’s narrative when it comes to the recent NFL protests.
The former New York Jets quarterback defended NFL players who “take a knee” during the National Anthem, saying it’s their right to do so.
“Going back to what Colin Kaepernick initially did, it was to point out some injustice that’s being done to the black race,” Namath said. “Or to people that obviously when you look — and I say obviously, some of these dash cams and shootings that were done to unarmed people. He was reaching out to try to get it more investigated. So that’s where this oppression thing comes in.”
Namath was then asked what he’d do if he was a team owner and his players chose to kneel during the Anthem.
“I’m not there, but I’ve never walked in a black man’s shoes either,” Namath replied. “…when you look around — hey — some of the things you see that have been done, are they fair? Life’s not fair … but if we can get some things straightened out, we need to work on it.”
“It’s a national dialogue now more on the flag — patriotism,” Namath continued. “But, the oppression or the unjust treatment of other has fallen in the background here. We haven’t heard that part.”
When asked about former Chicago Bears coach Mike Ditka comments where he said there’s been no oppression in the U.S. for the last 100 years, Namath rebuked the idea.
“Look up the meaning of oppression,” Namath said. “Look up the definition of oppression, and you understand that it’s obviously taken place.”
Namath also said that NFL owners have a right to either allow or disallow protests on the field.
Watch the video below:
Featured image via screen grab
