San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick did not vote in the presidential election, telling reporters Tuesday that he had no plans to.
Here is a tweet from Eric Branch of The San Francisco Chronicle:
Kaepernick, 29, who touched off a firestorm in August when he began refusing to stand for "The Star-Spangled Banner" at National Football League games to protest social issues, has slammed both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton's fitness for the White House.
"I watched a little bit of it," Kaepernick told the Chronicle in September after the first presidential debate. "To me, it was embarrassing to watch that these are our two candidates.
"Both are proven liars — and it almost seems like they’re trying to debate who’s less racist.
"And at this point, talking with one of my friends, it was you have to pick the lesser of two evils," he said. "But in the end, it’s still evil."
Kaepernick, who was drafted by the 49ers in 2011, has since pledged $1 million to organizations assisting communities affected by racial injustice and police brutality.
But the quarterback came under fire Wednesday by NBC Sports columnist Michael David Smith for not casting a ballot on state and local issues in California.
"It's more surprising that Kaepernick apparently also doesn’t much care about the difference between the two candidates for U.S. Senate in California, doesn’t think any of the state and local elections matter, and doesn’t think any of the propositions matter," Smith said.
"Does Kaepernick really see no connection at all between any of those races and the issues he speaks out about?
"If Kaepernick cares about police mistreatment of black men in America, he should care about the way America is governed," Smith concluded. "He didn’t care enough to vote."
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