Several NFL fans are calling out apparent hypocrisy in the response to San Francisco 49ers star Nick Bosa crashing his teammates' postgame interview wearing a "Make America Great Again" hat and former quarterback Colin Kaepernick kneeling in protest of police brutality and racism.
Following the 49er's Sunday (October 27) night victory against the Dallas Cowboys, Bosa interrupted a post-game interview featuring teammates Brock Purdy, George Kittle, and Isaac Guerendo to point out the infamous Donald Trump slogan on his hat.
“All right, Nick Bosa with a message there,” NBC's Melissa Stark said as Bosa jogged off-camera following the interruption.
When it was his turn to speak to reporters post-game, Bosa declined to elaborate on the interruption.
“I’m not going to talk too much about it, but I think that it’s an important time,” the Pro Bowler said when asked about the incident.
Several NFL fans compared Bosa's MAGA stunt to Kaepernick kneeling for the "Star-Spangled Banner" in 2016 in protest of police brutality. At the time, Trump condemned Kaepernick and other players who joined the movement, calling for the league to take punitive measures against them. Kaepernick opted out of his contract with the 49ers in 2017 but hasn't been signed to an NFL team since. Many believe NFL owners iced the former 49ers star out of the league due to his political views. Kaepernick filed a lawsuit against the NFL, alleging that teams colluded to keep him from playing. The case was settled earlier this year.
"Two 49er NFL players. Two political statements. Black Lives Matter v. MAGA. Only one is allowed by the NFL," one viral tweet comparing Bosa and Kaepernick's situations reads.
"If the NFL doesn’t treat Bosa the way it treated Kaepernick, it’s basically admitting it was just racism the whole time," another tweet reads.
See more reactions to the incident below.
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