After receiving heavy backlash for a post mocking former NFL player Colin Kaepernick‘s $50,000 donation to Meals on Wheels, Sarah Palin deleted the post and followed up with an apology and explanation.
This Wednesday, Palin posted a story about Kaepernick’s donation titled, “Colin Kaepernick Just Pulled Another Political Stunt” from her website written by contributor Mary Kate Knorr. The post included the caption, ““And he wonders why he can’t find a job.”
The backlash was immediate, and Twitter users piled on wondering why she’d find fault in a donation to a program that works for the common good.
@ItsTonyNow What is Sarah Palin’s job exactly
— Harvey K. 🌹 (@krallenbauche) March 22, 2017
@SarahPalinUSA if you tweet about Colin Kaepernick at 12:35 AM you must not have a job either.
— Brandon (@IATEMYBROTHER) March 22, 2017
@SarahPalinUSA Has your lazy ass ever finished a job?
— Drew MacDonald (@DrewYouRiot) March 22, 2017
@SarahPalinUSA Meals on Wheels …. radical, man!!!!
— Zee Petals (@zeepetals) March 22, 2017
imagine being so racist you get mad a black athlete for donating to meals on wheels https://t.co/wIEa4RBK3s
— Adam H. Johnson (@adamjohnsonNYC) March 22, 2017
@SarahPalinUSA you dismiss donating to the needy as a political stunt?
— Wilson (@mikebabaganoosh) March 22, 2017
Colin Kaepernick: “I donated money to Meals on Wheels.”
Sarah Palin:”Holy shit look at this asshole” https://t.co/4RH1T7laPO— Rey “Azure” McSriff (@aguyuno) March 22, 2017
On Wednesday, Palin deleted the article from her website along with the posts on her Facebook and Twitter promoting the story. She then posted an article the same writer titled, “CLARIFICATION: Out Response To The Media Outrage On A Story We Recently Covered.”
“There’s been a significant amount of online media backlash over a story written by myself and posted on Governor Palin’s website and social media accounts yesterday, which framed Colin Kaepernick’s $50,000 donation to Meals on Wheels as an anti-Trump political stunt,” Knorr wrote.
“But this instance involving myself and the story I wrote yesterday serves as a perfect example of how writing for an audience can become a distraction,” she continued. “Last night, I passed judgement on a charitable donation made by an athlete with a political history, and I wrote about it. The assumptions I made about his intentions were unfair. I am sorry for that.”
But the backlash was still prevalent:
would there have been an apology if there was no backlash? admin's on cuts to MOW were clear. ✔️state's bdgt's for funding. 2
— E_Mery (@Iris_Daylily) March 22, 2017
https://twitter.com/Hamletjim/status/844646003298856960
This "apology" is hilarious. He DONATED money, and your tried to mock and humiliate him. Pathetic.
— Tony (@jaxtonypiper) March 22, 2017
Was Sarah's twitter hacked? This looks like the kind of thing a human would post!
— Phil Krew, but not spelled like that (@The_Philopher) March 22, 2017
https://twitter.com/GlazaCatherine/status/844662911507316738
Featured image via Gage Skidmore. To follow Sky Palma on Facebook, click here.