Stephen A. Smith Believes Colin Kaepernick Disrespected His Ancestors by Not Voting

Stephen A. Smith changed his stance on Colin Kaepernick once he found out that the 49ers quarterback didn't vote in the 2016 presidential election.

Stephen A. Smith says he used to go to bat for Colin Kaepernick over his national anthem protest, but that all changed in early November when the San Francisco 49ers quarterback revealed that he didn't vote in the 2016 presidential election. Upon hearing this revelation from Kaepernick, Smith's initial reaction probably looked something like this: 

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When discussing Kaepernick's decision on ESPN First Take, Smith called Kaepernick "irrelevant" and asked ESPN and other media outlets to no longer cover him going forward. "As far as I’m concerned, Colin Kaepernick is absolutely irrelevant," Smith said. "I don’t want to see him again. I don’t want to hear from him again. I don’t want to hear a damn word about anything that he has to say about our nation, the issues we have, racial injustices, needing change."

Kaepernick has since tried to expand on his stance towards refusing to vote. "I’ve been very disconnected from the systematic oppression as a whole," he said. "So for me, it’s another face that’s going to be the face of that system of oppression. And to me, it didn’t really matter who went in there. The system remains intact that oppresses people of color." Still, Smith isn't trying to hear what Kaep has to say, and appeared on CNN Saturdays with Michael Smerconish to blast the Niners quarterback once again for his decision. However, this time, the ESPN personality took it a step further.  

"The second he decided that he was not going to vote, and then, to publicly reveal that he wasn't voting, I thought it was egregious to the highest order," Smith said. "I thought he compromised everything that he was standing for. And more importantly, I thought it was a disrespect to our ancestors, to people who have bled and fought and died for him to have the right to do that."  

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