San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick responded to criticism from ESPN's Trent Dilfer on Monday night, slamming the analyst's comments that he should "sit in the shadows."
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On ESPN's "Sunday NFL Countdown" pregame show, Dilfer said Kaepernick, who has refused to stand for the national anthem in protest of racial inequality, "is a backup quarterback whose job is to be quiet, and sit in the shadows and get the starter ready to play Week 1."
Dilfer added, "Yet he chose a time where all of a sudden he became the center of attention, and it has disrupted that organization. It has caused friction, and it’s torn at the fabric of the team.”
While speaking to reporters Monday, Kaepernick called the comments "ridiculous."
"I think that's one of the most ridiculous comments I've heard," Kaepernick said, according to USA Today. "The fact (Dilfer) says, 'You are a backup QB, stay in your place.' That's an issue.
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"To me, you are telling me that my position as a backup QB and being quiet is more important than people’s lives. I would ask him to really have a conversation with the families of people that have been murdered and see if he still feels that way. Because I bet that he doesn’t, just because he hasn’t experienced that type of oppression.
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