San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s decision to protest the national anthem to draw attention to police brutality and racial injustices in America has sparked a national debate and has lead to many NFL players to protest in different ways.
On Sunday, Washington Redskins wide receiver DeSean Jackson protested in a different way.
Jackson wore these custom-made cleats with a yellow caution-tape design to draw attention to racial injustices and police violence during warm-ups prior to today’s Browns-Redskins game in Landover, MD.
DeSean Jackson’s cleats for Week 4 are going to make people angry. https://t.co/fgmK0HT38X pic.twitter.com/p8BfirNGog
— Troy Machir (@TroyMachir) October 1, 2016
.@DeSeanJackson11
is wearing custom made cleats with caution tape to protest police killings. Thoughts? https://t.co/tjrkgRVtwn pic.twitter.com/mU3zUYsUf2— WUSA9 (@wusa9) October 2, 2016
The three-time Pro Bowler released this statement today in regards to his cleats:
“Today is the start of my attempts to be part of a solution and start dialogue about the senseless killings of both citizens and police. I have chosen to wear these cleats in pregame today to use my platform as a pro athlete to add to this discussion. This isn’t meant to be any kind of protest against the good men and women in law enforcement in this country. I just want to express my concern in a peaceful and productive way about issues that are currently impacting our country.”
The Washington Redskins also released this statement as well:
“We stand in support of both DeSean and the law enforcement community. We have great respect for law enforcement and the sacrifices they make each and every day to protect and serve our communities. We continue to have open dialogue with our players about issues that are important to them and support their efforts to bring awareness to those issues when done in a responsible manner.”
So far, Jackson has only worn these cleats during warm-ups, should he decide to wear them during the game, he would be subject to a fine.
