NEW YORK — Although Serena Williams was too busy playing her older sister Friday night to notice that Colin Kaepernick and Eric Reid were in the crowd, she did give a shout-out afterward to their efforts to draw attention to racial injustice and inequality.
“I think every athlete, every human, and definitely every African American should be completely grateful and honored how Colin and Eric are doing so much more for the greater good, so to say,” Serena said in her news conference after she defeated Venus 6-1, 6-2 to advance to the fourth round. “They really use their platform in ways that is really unfathomable."
Kaepernick, then with the San Francisco 49ers, protested by sitting, and later kneeling, during the national anthem. Teammate Reid joined him, as did other NFL players around the league. That has drawn criticism from President Trump and from police.
Both players have filed a grievance against the NFL, claiming the league has colluded to not sign them because of their protests. An arbitrator this week rejected an NFL motion to dismiss Kaepernick's grievance.
“I feel like they obviously have great respect from a lot of their peers, especially other athletes, people that really are looking for social change,” Serena said of the pair.
She and her sister are minority owners of the Miami Dolphins.
Source: Read Full Article