Colin Kaepernick: National Anthem a ‘Bad Song’
By Sandra Rhodes (/journals/sandra-rhodes)
The former NFL football player who refused to stand for the U.S. National Anthem is now calling it “bad song” musically.
Colin Kaepernick appeared on Wednesday’s episode of “The Adam Friedland Show.” Kaepernick was on the show to promote his upcoming memoir.
Friedland asked Kaepernick, “Do you think ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ is a good song?”
Kaepernick’s answer? “No.”
“You just think, as a song, it’s wack?” Friedland asked.
“Yeah, it’s a bad song,” Kaepernick said.
The two talked about the possibility of choosing a new national anthem.
Friedland suggested “March Madness” by Atlanta rapper Future.
“Do you think– what would be a better song?“ Friedland asked. “Just, if you were going to choose a – let’s assume America’s not being bad anymore. Let’s assume it’s– we’re loving it. We’re cooking, right? And you want to give us our theme.“
The conversation went as follows: KAEPERNICK: Hm. FRIEDLAND: March Madness? KAEPERNICK: Great choice. FRIEDLAND: March Madness. KAEPERNICK: Great choice. FRIEDLAND: Yeah, yeah, I think. Honestly, that is a good pull, no? If March Madness was our national anthem? KAEPERNICK: Not mad at that. FRIEDLAND: Yeah, would white people– what would we do, though, with the– KAEPERNICK: Cheer it on. FRIEDLAND: No, but we want to say every– not that word, obviously. KAEPERNICK: Oh. FRIEDLAND: If the national anthem had the [n word], OK– KAEPERNICK: I mean, that’s where we got self-edit. FRIEDLAND: I’m just saying, it’s in the song.
Kaepernick, 38, was in the news in 2016 when he refused to stand for the national anthem.
He later explained that he continued to kneel to protest against police brutality.
Kaepernick has not played in the NFL since 2017. He has said lthe league intentionally blackballed him for his political stances.
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Comments (1)
Kaepernick is right that the anthem is tough to sing, but that has nothing to do with why we stand for it.



