Colin Kaepernick deserves an apology from the NFL for the way they’ve treated him over the years, Cleveland Browns star Myles Garrett told Cleveland.com . The player also stated his belief that the National Football League should “lead” when it comes to social justice movements.
“I feel like they should have a bigger voice,” Garrett said. “They have so much access to resources. They should be able to speak up. I believe Kap deserves an apology. I know it’s one thing to stand behind us and support our efforts, but they should be standing beside us in what we’re doing, seeing as there are a lot of players big and small in their stardom trying to do things for their hometowns, for where they play and just for areas that they know have been affected.”
Garrett added he doesn’t feel like the players are getting support the way he’d like to see them getting it when it comes to social justice situations. In fact, he said instead of being in a support role, the NFL should be “leading the charge.”
Garrett spoke about his own efforts when it comes to helping people out and said he hoped owners and the commissioner would step up and publicly do more. The Browns’ star pointed to his recent offer to pay for the costs of a funeral for Louisville chef David McAtee. Though some thought Garrett made the offer on social media to get attention for himself and might not follow through, the defensive star said he did follow through. He also said the only reason he used Twitter to make the announcement was so that he could reach the right people as quickly as possible.
Garrett said he’s doing lots of things both in his adopted home of Cleveland and his hometown, Fort Worth, Texas, to make the everyday lives of young men and women better. The player added that he intends to keep in touch with the people he helps to make sure they don’t need any more assistance in the future. Garrett continued by saying that he wants to make sure they grow and prosper, and he’s going to do all he can to help them do that.
He pointed to his work in both cities as one example of how the NFL should be standing behind the players more. Garret again talked about how the league dealt with Kaepernick’s peaceful protests. He added that the league has made some good steps in fixing that, but it still hasn’t done enough.