Colin Kaepernick's polarizing decision to protest the national anthem on Friday isn't the only bold political move that the 49ers quarterback made over the weekend.
During an 18-minute interview with reporters on Sunday, Kaepernick blasted both presidential candidates for playing a part in the problems that he says America is currently facing.
"I think the two presidential candidates that we currently have also represent the issues that we have in this country right now," Kaepernick said. "You have Hillary [Clinton], who has called black teens or black kids super predators. You have Donald Trump, who is openly racist."
As you can imagine, Trump didn't take kindly to the accusation that he's a racist. During an interview on the "Dori Monson Show" on Monday, Trump was asked about the Kaepernick situation, and his response was vintage Trump: If Kaepernick doesn't like America, then he should leave.
Here's the excerpt of the interview from from KIRO-AM in Seattle (via MyNorthwest.com)
Dori: "Are you following 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick refusing to stand for the anthem? He had bad things to say about both you and Hillary."
Trump: "I have followed it and I think it's personally not a good thing, I think it's a terrible thing. And maybe he should find a country that works better for him, let him try. It won't happen."
If Kaepernick's national anthem protest continues into the regular season, it won't be surprising at all if it becomes a hot topic during the presidential election, especially if he continues to criticize both candidates.
Kaepernick has said that he's going to continue to sit until there is "significant change."
"There's a lot of things that need to change. One specifically? Police brutality," Kaepernick said. "There's people being murdered unjustly and not being held accountable. People are being given paid leave for killing people. That's not right."
Kaepernick's message might not have caught on with Trump, but it has caught on with at least one fellow NFL player. Eagles linebacker Myke Tavarres said on Monday that he's going to join Kaepernick's protest and sit during the national anthem at the Eagles-Jets game on Thursday.
Like Kaepernick, Tavarres immediately ran into a potential problem: His agent.
The linebacker's agent has talked him out of joining Kaepernick, which means Tavarres will likely be standing during the anthem at Lincoln Financial Field.
