Jerry Rice is one of the most popular 49ers ever and one of the greatest players in NFL history, so his words on the Colin Kaepernick situation were bound to get plenty of attention. And when Rice weighed in on the matter on Twitter last night, he chose words that are sure to be controversial.
Rice took to Twitter and chastised Kaepernick for refusing to stand for the national anthem. Rice also seemed to chastise the Black Lives Matter movement.
“All lives matter. So much going on in this world today. Can we all just get along! Colin, I respect your stance but don’t disrespect the Flag,” Rice wrote.
Within hours, that tweet had been retweeted and liked several thousand times, and Rice was trending on Twitter. So plenty of people are paying attention.
The words “All lives matter” have become seen as a rebuke to the Black Lives Matter movement, although it’s unclear whether Rice meant it that way.
What Rice clearly meant is to criticize Kaepernick for refusing to stand. Kaepernick has received plenty of criticism from the general public, but he has received mostly support from his fellow NFL players. Rice is making clear that he doesn’t support Kaepernick’s stance.