Devin and Jason McCourty call on others in the NFL to use their platform to speak out

Colin Kaepernick once used his platform to speak out, and that landed him unemployed and hated by many in the United States. He was right in doing so, but people turned the peaceful protest into something totally different.

Kaepernick knelt during the National Anthem to bring awareness to police brutality in the United States. He was dogged and many turned the narrative into a “He hates the Military and United States”, but that was not the case. Many are upset that he used him platform during a game to voice his opinion. Well, two of NFL’s best defensive backs are now asking players to do the same thing.

As part of a roundtable discussion, Devin and Jason McCourty urged NFL players to use their platforms to speak out about social issues.

“We have to take advantage of the platform we have when we have it,” Jason McCourty said. “Once we’re retired, you still can do it but it’s almost too late to demand the audience and people that you have. I think it starts with a conversation. As you watch what has gone on over the last few days, with the rioting and looting, it’s a form of communication when you don’t know how else to communicate.

“I wouldn’t find myself out rioting and looting,” he added. “I think a peaceful protest is awesome. At the same time, I can’t sit here in the comfort of my house and tell somebody who firmly believes that the rioting and looting is going to change (things), I can’t tell them they’re wrong because I cannot directly tell them in a manner or a way, if you do A, B and C, we’re going to get the answer we want. I think everybody’s just at a loss for solutions.”

The Twins also talked about Colin Kaepernick, saying if people would have listened George Floyd would be alive.

“Look at Kaepernick. A couple years ago, people were going crazy. ‘This guy is this, he’s that,’” he said. “Then, the irony of a man losing his life because a knee is in his neck and now, all of a sudden, people are like, ‘Oh man, let me take an extra second to listen to what Kaepernick said in an interview about why he took a knee and why he did a silent protest.’

“If you ever stopped and listen to what he was doing and his true message, it would have never gotten to that point and you would have never talked about the military,” he added. “You would have never talked about the flag. You would’ve understood he was talking about freedom.”

The McCourty Twins talked about quite a bit of social injustice topics, and it was a great show. I think we have to communicate and continue to raise awareness until something is done. I hope we can figure it out sooner rather than later.