When the polarizing Colin Kaepernick knelt during the playing of the national anthem, his media apologists assured the public it was purely a matter of free speech. But media are singing a different tune today, because when Republicans in the Wisconsin Assembly objected to the inclusion of Kaepernick's name on a Black History resolution it was not a matter of expressing free speech rights. White Republicans had erased him, spiked him and stripped him from Black History Month.
The Associated Press (AP) report stated GOP lawmakers had "erased" Colin Kapaernick from a Black History Month resolution. That term was stolen from LGBT activists who claim President Donald Trump has "erased" transgenders.
David K. Li of NBCNews.com wrote the Wisconsin GOP had "spiked" Kaepernick's name from the resolution. The subhead reads: "The Republican lawmakers' move to bench the quarterback from the resolution is a 'textbook example of white privilege,' state Rep. David Crowley said."
NBC News, AP and Yahoo Sports writers stressed that the Assembly and Senate Republicans in Wisconsin are white, too.
Li's story starts out ...
"Wisconsin Republicans stripped Colin Kaepernick's name from a resolution recognizing Black History Month, saying the former NFL quarterback was too controversial to be included."
Led by Rep. Crowley, a Democrat from Milwaukee, the legislature's Black Caucus introduced the resolution, which included more than 20 names.
Assembly Majority Leader Jim Steineke, a Republican, objected to Kaepernick's inclusion "for obvious reasons." Rather than speculate on those reasons, Li focused on Steineke's white race. So much for MLK's dream of judging people by the content of their character rather than their skin color.
Assembly Democrats gave in to Republican opposition and removed Kaepernick's name from the resolution, which then passed unanimously. The resolution then passed in the Senate 19-14 Wednesday. And by the way, Li writes, the GOP-controlled Senate "has no black members."
Biased media often echo each other, and Yahoo Sports' Liz Roscher also parroted the progressive line, ignoring Kaepernick's history of divisive behavior and insinuating that opposition to him is just a matter of race:
"Despite the clear distaste that Wisconsin’s Republican lawmakers (who all happen to be white) have for Kaepernick, it doesn’t appear that any of them clearly spelled out why. Instead, those who spoke about the bill tiptoed around their reasoning."
AP's story added to the progressive sheeple chorus: "All Republicans in the state Legislature are white." And, "Republican Assembly Majority Leader Jim Steineke, who is white, said Kaepernick was not named because he is a controversial figure." One more time! "There are no black Republicans in the Wisconsin Legislature."
Though Kaepernick offended many Americans with a bitter protest that began in 2016, Li portrayed him as a sympathetic figure to the end of his story. "Kaepernick and protesting NFL players have been a favorite punching bag of President Donald Trump, who considered kneeling during the anthem as a sign of disrespect toward U.S. service members."
Rather than honor the African-Americans approved for the resolution, Democrats Lena Taylor and LaTonya Johnson chose to protest the removal of Kaepernick by voting against a measure meant to celebrate Black History Month. They exaggerated that they had to "get permission" on whom they could vote for.
