RACISM + SPORTS

Having White Privilege Means Never Having To Say You're Sorry

Aaron Rodgers lied, and Kaepernick told the truth about the NFL and America

Allison Wiltz M.S.
LEVEL
Published in
5 min readNov 9, 2021

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Aaron Rodgers and Colin Kaepernick | Photo Credit | Associated Press

We're all old enough to remember when Aaron Rodgers, star quarterback for the Green Bay Packers, said Kaepernick wasn't on an NFL team "because of his protests." Back then, he had nothing but smoke for his fellow quarterback. Instead of support, he justified the league-wide decision to keep Kaepernick out of the game. Ironically, Rodgers doesn't think he deserves to be benched for protesting the NFL's health protocols. At this point, he's out here flexing his White privilege.

To be clear, Kaepernick had unselfish reasons to take a knee during the national anthem. Moreover, his protest brought attention to police brutality that Black people experience in America. Yet even though he didn't break any league rules, no NFL team would let him play in their little reindeer games. "I don't want him anywhere near my team," one front-office executive said of Kaepernick. One went a step further, claiming, "he's a traitor."

Taking a knee was a peaceful protest that hurt absolutely no one in the process. But, on the other hand, Aaron Rodgers risked the health and safety of his fellow team members, their families, and staff. Who…

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Allison Wiltz M.S.
LEVEL
Writer for

Black womanist scholar and doctoral candidate from New Orleans, LA with bylines @ Momentum, Oprah Daily, ZORA, Cultured #WEOC Founder. allisonthedailywriter.com