As one of the few black head coaches in the NFL, Los Angeles Chargers' Anthony Lynn decided to use his platform to shine a light on the ongoing protests as well as the legacy of Colin Kaepernick.
On Tuesday, the Los Angeles Times published an interview with Lynn, in which he said that Kaepernick's protests were misinterpreted by a lot of people at the time.
"People completely misunderstood Colin and what he was trying to do. People talked about disrespecting the flag . . . the flag covers a lot —patriotism and civil rights and other things. And Colin was speaking out against the injustice and a lot of people didn’t catch on to that because it was happening during the national anthem. They thought it was disrespectful to the flag," Lynn said before claiming that a lot of people twisted Kaepernick's motives to fit their personal political agendas.
"A lot of people for their own political reasons pushed out the wrong narrative. A lot of people didn’t catch on as to why he took a knee. I understood and applauded him for it," Lynn explained. "I thought it was a shame that Colin’s message got lost because people kept bringing up patriotism. It was brave for him to do that. I have a lot of respect for that young man standing up for something outside of the 'Big 3' — God, family, football — and I have to say social justice right now is challenging my priorities."
With America in turmoil, some of those who opposed Kaepernick's protests are softening their previous stances. But that doesn't change the fact that he still doesn't have a job.
"I didn’t like it. I know when you look at 32 quarterbacks in the National Football League, Colin could have been one of the 32," Lynn said. "If not, he could have been a quality backup. For me being an African-American head coach, this is tough."
As for his own experience during the protest, Lynn tells the Times that he has stood in solidarity with those protesting in the Los Angeles area. He says that he was moved to do so because he didn't want to be a "spectator," when so much needs to be done. But, he was disappointed to find that there was no real endgame for the protests,
"After an hour or so I sought out the leader and we had a conversation and we talked about what was the end game. After the protests, what is this going to lead to? That’s when I got a little disappointed because there was no plan," he said. "The protest was there to help people express themselves but there was no endgame, no plan. All of the sacrifice and protest, I wanted to know at the end of this, if something was going to be done. I don’t want to be doing this again 20 years from now, and so I’m looking for ways to sit at the table and have a conversation about this broken system."
Still, Lynn makes it clear that he understands why people are frustrated with America and why they've taken to the streets.
"But this stuff that’s taking place with police brutality and unarmed black men dying and white people feeling like they can use their privilege to threaten black people like that white woman did in Central Park, that’s ridiculous," he explains. "How do we effect that type of change? Where’s the accountability for that kind of [expletive]? That’s where I’m at right now. I’m angry, I’m pissed off and I don’t want to just put out a pretty statement."
