Don Cherry Has Predictably Awful Colin Kaepernick Take

What a surprise: Don Cherry opened up his mouth, or in this case his Twitter account, and said something dumb.

The 82-year-old CBC hockey commentator recently spoke out against Colin Kaepernick, questioning the motives and actions of the 49ers quarterback who caused a stir for sitting during the "The Star-Spangled Banner" ahead of a preseason game. Kaepernick, in an effort to take a stand against police violence and the oppression of blacks in the United States, said he will continue to sit during the national anthem.

Cherry, no stranger to controversial and preposterous comments, released the following statement Tuesday:

"Regarding the controversy over Colin Kaepernick. It's funny how athletes when they know they are finished they all of a sudden take a stand. For instance, the 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick. He knows he's not going to beat out the 49ers quarterback Gabbert. So all of a sudden he takes a stand on the Star Spangled Banner and not stand up to honour the flag. And believe it or not some people compare him to Muhammed [sic] Ali. So very wrong. If you remember, Ali took a stand in the prime of his career and lost 3 good years. If Colin Kaepernick really wanted to make a statement he should have done it during the Super Bowl. And make no mistake he has made things tougher for the organization that has made him millions. Besides, if he feels so strongly about these issues why does he not take the money he's going to, I was going to say earn, but I will say get, and give it to his causes."

Cherry's harsh comments hardly come as a surprise to most hockey fans who have watched him exclaim his explicit nationalistic and militaristic views firsthand every Saturday on Hockey Night in Canada.

Let's go through Cherry's statement on Kaepernick…

• In regards to Cherry's point about Kaepernick waiting until he is washed up to take a stand instead of doing it at the 2013 Super Bowl, maybe the quarterback simply wasn't ready and educated enough? Maybe he didn't feel as strongly about the situation at that point? No! Kaepernick is doing this because he realized he's finished and won't win the starting quarterback gig. That's all this is. Good point, we should have thought of that.

• Cherry's also ignoring a crucial factor: things have gotten worse in America. Kaepernick's stance against police brutality in America is timely, coming amidst a nationwide epidemic where police killed 1207 people in 2015, including a disproportionate 258 black people, most of whom were unarmed. The violence hasn't stopped this year, either, as many deadly incidents involving blacks and the police have drawn widespread international attention and protests throughout the US. It's just a bad take.

• Dock another point for spelling Muhammad Ali's name wrong.

• The organization that made Kaepernick millions? Pretty sure Kaepernick probably made the 49ers some money when he helped lead them to the 2013 Super Bowl and turned into a household name.

• Cherry goes on to suggest that Kaepernick should give money to the cause rather than making an empty gesture, but just like so many in the sports world who have failed to accept Kaepernick's actions, he misses the point. Cherry fails to see that by sitting out the anthem Kaepernick is making difference and it is evidenced by the growing awareness and support of the quarterback's actions. It's dominating sports discussion, and many veterans have taken to Twitter to show their support for the 28-year-old. Just like NBA stars are leading a fight against social injustice, Kaepernick has taken a courageous first step to lead the NFL. Further, Cherry has no fuckin' idea what Kaepernick is and isn't doing with his money.

"The fact that it has blown up like this I think is a good thing," Kaepernick said of the attention he's getting. "It brings awareness. Everybody knows what's going on and this sheds more light on it. Now I think people are really talking about it, having conversations about how to make change, what's really going on in this country and we can move forward."

As we've unfortunately seen, Cherry is hardly alone when it comes to bad Kaepernick takes…

• Rodney Harrison said Kaepernick isn't black and doesn't understand the issue he's protesting.

• Nascar driver Tony Stewart tweeted: "I'm sorry but @Kaepernick7 needs to learn the fact about police before running his dumbass mouth! He has no clue what they go thru! #idiot."

• Giants head coach Ben McAdoo sees no room for nuance in protesting national anthem, but plenty in spousal abuse.

• Former NFL quarterback and CBS colour commentator Boomer Esiason said: "It's an embarrassment and it's about as disrespectful as any athlete has ever been."

• Former MLB player Aubrey Huff, sounding a lot like presidential candidate Donald Trump, tweeted: "This guy is a joke. Get lost. You don't like it in a country that has given you opportunity to succeed? Then get lost."

It's not hard to find more of these awful takes, either. Sad.