Colin Kaepernick, meet President Donald Trump. At least, that’s what rapper Kanye West would want.
West doubled his efforts Wednesday for the two to get together by tweeting that the former NFL quarterback, whose protests of racial injustice during the national anthem sparked a movement across the NFL, should have a “dialogue” with perhaps his most vehement critic.
reaching out to Colin Kaepernick. I would like you to speak with the president to tell him your experience directly. Let’s have a dialogue not a diatribe.
— ye (@kanyewest) October 3, 2018
West first discussed the idea in a televised interview earlier this week.
As of Wednesday night, Kaepernick hadn’t replied.
In September, Nike launched a new ad campaign featuring Kaepernick with the words, “Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything.”
Trump said the ad was “a terrible message.”
The president has been critical of NFL players who kneel during the national anthem as a form of protest against social injustice, and he has frequently called out the league and commissioner Roger Goodell for their inability to curtail the practice. At a rally in Alabama a year ago, Trump said owners should fire players who kneel during the anthem, adding “get that son of a bitch off the field.”
As a free agent, Kaepernick has not been signed by an NFL team since the conclusion of the 2016 season. He has a collusion case pending against the league, and it has been reported that Kaepernick and his legal team are expected to seek a federal subpoena to get testimony from Trump and other officials.