GQ Magazine found it appropriate to name Colin Kaepernick the 2017 ‘Citizen of the Year’ — it’s as if they aren’t paying attention.
GQ wrote in part:
In 2013, Colin Kaepernick was on the cover of this magazine because he was one of the best football players in the world. In 2017, Colin Kaepernick is on GQ’s cover once again—but this time it is because he isn’t playing football. And it’s not because he’s hurt, or because he’s broken any rules, or because he’s not good enough. Approximately 90 men are currently employed as quarterbacks in the NFL, as either starters or reserves, and Colin Kaepernick is better—indisputably, undeniably, flat-out better—than at least 70 of them. He is still, to this day, one of the most gifted quarterbacks on earth. And yet he has been locked out of the game he loves—blackballed—because of one simple gesture: He knelt during the playing of our national anthem. And he did it for a clear reason, one that has been lost in the yearlong storm that followed. He did it to protest systemic oppression and, more specifically, as he said repeatedly at the time, police brutality toward black people.
WOW… so what the heck has JJ Watt been doing? He’s actually been doing something USEFUL! As pointed out by Former ESPN reporter Britt McHenry via Twitter:
‘JJ Watt raised $37 million for Hurricane Harvey victims. 37 MILLION! But Kaepernick refused to stand for our national anthem (a year ago) and is Citizen of the Year. Right…’ she tweeted after the announcement.
‘For those who think I don’t get the reason for protest you’re wrong. Eagles Malcolm Jenkins met with lawmakers to help community. Dolphins Kenny Stills met with Miami police. More examples of Citizen of the Year.’
‘Wear socks depicting police officers as pigs; wear Fidel Castro as a fashion statement IN MIAMI; sue NFL for collusion when gf compares owners to slave owners… Win Citizen of the Year,’ she wrote. ‘Serve in the US Military…nothing. What a joke, GQ. #Kaepernick.’
As reported by USA Today:
J.J. Watt’s fund for Hurricane Harvey victims in Houston raised more than $37 million before it was closed Friday at the request of the NFL star, according to YouCaring, the company that handled the online donations.
“If there is one thing that I have taken away from these last few weeks, it is the reassurance of how much good is out there in our world,” wrote Watt, an All-Pro defensive end for the Houston Texans, in a message on his fund’s page at YouCaring.com. “When times are the toughest, humanity stands at its strongest and you have all helped to prove that emphatically.”
When the fund closed at 6 p.m. ET Friday, Watt wrote, efforts would shift from fundraising to ensuring the money is put to work for the people in the devastated areas in and around Houston.