Tuesday saw NBC NFL analyst Rodney Harrison chime in (like everyone else) on Colin Kaepernick’s anthem stance, but Harrison managed to create a further controversy in the process. In an interview with Lance Zierlein & Matt Thomas on Houston’s SportsTalk 790, Harrison said that Kaepernick is “not black.” Here’s the clip:

And a transcription of the key parts, via Jordan Heck of Omnisport:

“I tell you this, I’m a black man. And Colin Kaepernick — he’s not black,” Harrison said. “He can not understand what I face and what other young black men and black people face, or people of color face, on a every single (day) basis. When you walk in a grocery store, and you might have $2,000 or $3,000 in your pocket and you go up in to a Foot Locker and they’re looking at you like you about to steal something.

“You know, I don’t think he faces those type of things that we face on a daily basis.”

“I’m not saying he has to be black, but I’m saying, his heart is in the right place, but even with what he’s doing, he still doesn’t understand the injustices as a black man, or people of color, that’s what I’m saying.”

Kaepernick is biracial, with a black biological father and a white biological mother (he was raised by adoptive parents), and he’s taken a lot of racist and racially-tinged abuse over the years (and some horrible stuff on Twitter in particular over the last few days), so it seems ridiculous for Harrison to declare that Kaepernick is “not black” and “can not understand what I face.” For that, Harrison was called out by many on Twitter, including ESPN’s Sage Steele:

And made fun of by others:

For his part, Harrison recanted…by saying he had no idea Kaepernick was mixed-race:

This has been “How Not To Comment On Race,” with your host, Rodney Harrison.

[The Sporting News]

About Andrew Bucholtz

Andrew Bucholtz has been covering sports media for Awful Announcing since 2012. He is also a staff writer for The Comeback. His previous work includes time at Yahoo! Sports Canada and Black Press.

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