Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford's wife Kelly apologizes for slamming Colin Kaepernick taking a knee
In NFL's 2016-2017 seasons, Colin Kaepernick protested against racial injustice and police brutality by kneeling during the national anthem at the games. His protests drew a sizable amount of criticism from across the country as well as in NFL circles. One of them was Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford's wife Kelly and in a recent post on Instagram, she has admitted that she was sorry for criticizing him.
A number of NFL players supported Kaepernick's demonstrations during the 2016-17 seasons, including eight players from the Lions who took a knee during a September 24, 2017, game against the Atlanta Falcons to protest explosive comments made by President Donald Trump. A month later, Kelly shared a lengthy post on Instagram where she asked protesting players to stand for the anthem in the name of unity against, among other things, police brutality.
She began by quoting the following words by American author Mitch Albom within her post: "The anthem is not the national police song. The anthem is not the national racist song. The anthem is an exercise in how this country can endure and rise, how we can agree on its future potential, even while struggling with its present."
However, she has now realized her error and once again took to social media to rectify it. "When Kaepernick knelt during the national anthem, I had strong feelings about it. Even when he kept saying it had nothing to do with the flag or military, I didn’t listen. I kept not listening to him or anyone else and let the political rhetoric persuade me that him kneeling was disrespectful to our military," she wrote.
"Over the past several months, I have opened my ears, mind, and heart and it has opened my eyes to see how wrong I was and for that I am sorry," her post continued. Her post also contained a screenshot of an NFL announcement stating that the Staffords have made a $350,000 donation to endow a social justice program in the athletic department of the University of Georgia, their alma mater.
Georgia announced that it will use the donation to "implement strategic initiatives in the areas of diversity, inclusion, equity and social justice" for athletes in all sports, according to a USA Today report. Matthew played three seasons for the Bulldogs in 2006-2008 while Kelly was a cheerleader at the school.