Rodney Harrison says Colin Kaepernick is “not black,” gets called out by Sage Steele

Tuesday saw NBC NFL analyst Rodney Harrison chime in (like everyone else) on Colin Kaepernick’s anthem stance, but Harrison managed to create a further controversy in the process. In an interview with Lance Zierlein & Matt Thomas on Houston’s SportsTalk 790, Harrison said that Kaepernick is “not black.” Here’s the clip:

And a transcription of the key parts, via Jordan Heck of Omnisport:

“I tell you this, I’m a black man. And Colin Kaepernick — he’s not black,” Harrison said. “He can not understand what I face and what other young black men and black people face, or people of color face, on a every single (day) basis. When you walk in a grocery store, and you might have $2,000 or $3,000 in your pocket and you go up in to a Foot Locker and they’re looking at you like you about to steal something.

“You know, I don’t think he faces those type of things that we face on a daily basis.”

“I’m not saying he has to be black, but I’m saying, his heart is in the right place, but even with what he’s doing, he still doesn’t understand the injustices as a black man, or people of color, that’s what I’m saying.”

Kaepernick is biracial, with a black biological father and a white biological mother (he was raised by adoptive parents), and he’s taken a lot of racist and racially-tinged abuse over the years (and some horrible stuff on Twitter in particular over the last few days), so it seems ridiculous for Harrison to declare that Kaepernick is “not black” and “can not understand what I face.” For that, Harrison was called out by many on Twitter, including ESPN’s Sage Steele:

.@Rodney_Harrison ..ppl like u claim us biracial kids when it's convenient for u. That's a racist, dbl standard. Sad https://t.co/t6kGHLiTx9

— Sage Steele (@sagesteele) August 30, 2016

Ok. Now tell me how YOUR experiences as a black man give u the right to determine someone else's identity?!Nevermind https://t.co/KWgzt16n8A

— Sage Steele (@sagesteele) August 30, 2016

And made fun of by others:

https://twitter.com/MorganPCampbell/status/770681782945607682

Rodney Harrison thought Martin Luther King was Asian.

— mike freeman (@mikefreemanNFL) August 30, 2016

I am looking forward to the new NBC show, @Rodney_Harrison Assesses Who Is And Who Is Not Black, Then Tries To Backtrack

— Bruce Arthur (@bruce_arthur) August 30, 2016

https://twitter.com/BobbyBigWheel/status/770693137698283521

For his part, Harrison recanted…by saying he had no idea Kaepernick was mixed-race:

I never intended to offend anyone , I was trying to speak about my experiences as a African American.

— Rodney Harrison (@Rodney_Harrison) August 30, 2016

I apologize to anyone that I offended , wasn't meant to be hurtful to anyone. God bless

— Rodney Harrison (@Rodney_Harrison) August 30, 2016

Last point I want people to know. I never even knew he was mixed.

— Rodney Harrison (@Rodney_Harrison) August 30, 2016

I should not have called Colin Kaepernick’s race into question during this morning’s radio interview. It was a mistake and I apologize.

— Rodney Harrison (@Rodney_Harrison) August 30, 2016

This has been “How Not To Comment On Race,” with your host, Rodney Harrison.

[The Sporting News]