Colin Kaepernick's message shouldn't be whitewashed

Colin Kaepernick's message was clear and should not be softened over time.

Following George Floyd's death, many have pointed to Colin Kaepernick's kneeling protest of police brutality and racial injustice and brought up how the reaction by many then looks foolish now. However, with so many saying Kaepernick was right after what happened to Floyd, SI's Corey Parson told host Robin Lundberg that he hopes the message isn't softened over time so that its seriousness and importance doesn't become just another meme.

Read the full video transcript below:

Robin Lundberg: The country is reeling in the wake of the death of George Floyd, and that goes for the sports world as well. For more, I'm joined by our Corey Parson. Yeah, Corey, I mean. While, Colin Kaepernick, in many ways is a symbol. Obviously, what is transpiring here goes far beyond Colin Kaepernick. 

Corey Parson: It does go far beyond Kaepernick. It started way before him. Obviously, he's most recently been the vocal leader of what's going on. But, you know, you see this a lot, you know what I'm saying? One of the reasons why I got in the sports media. Very popular college basketball broadcaster, you know, that I looked up to and respect and still do. You know, I'm saying, Dick Vitale this weekend tweeted, "We need more leaders like Martin Luther King." Well, we had a Martin Luther King and he was assassinated. So I don't want the legacy of Colin Kaepernick to almost become like whitewashed, like the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King. So when we talk about what Colin Kaepernick did, yes, this story is starting to change now. But the bottom line of the matter is a lot of people knew that the story would change and a lot people will be on the wrong side of history. It's accelerated. It's happening more quickly than we thought. I don't want to see Colin Kaepernick go to this become like this big "oh, Colin Kaepernick was so great when he was here" and we had Colin Kaepernick and he was warning us about this and about how the system is treating us. He kind of fell on deaf ears. So now is not the time to look at Colin Kaepernick to say save us. 

Robin Lundberg: Corey, really appreciate your time, thought and insight. 

For more on Kaepernick and George Floyd:

• What Do You Think of Colin Kaepernick Now?

• Colin Kaepernick Offers to Pay for Lawyers of Minneapolis Protesters

• Point After: America Needs to Finally Listen to Colin Kaepernick