Marshawn Lynch Says He'd Rather See Kaepernick Protest Than Get Killed

The former NFL player also said he hopes people "open their eyes" to the country's issues.
Beast Mode keeps it real.
Beast Mode keeps it real.
Randy Shropshire via Getty Images

Leave it to Marshawn Lynch to make more sense out of Colin Kaepernick’s national anthem protest than a lot of his celeb peers. When the former Seattle Seahawk gave his thoughts on the controversial protest on Tuesday’ episode of “Conan,” he emphasized why Kaepernick's actions are necessary.

“With what’s going on, I’d rather see him take a knee than stand up, put his hands up and get murdered,” Lynch told Conan O’Brien as he stood and demonstrated. “It’s gotta start somewhere and if that was the starting point, I just hope people open up they eyes to see that it’s really a problem going on and something needs to be done for it to stop.”

Athletes, celebrities, veterans and politicians (including the president) have showed support for the San Fransisco 49ers quarterback and his message. Still, many don’t see why a protest is necessary.

Since Kaepernick began his protest on August 14, at least 15 black people have died at the hands of law enforcement. The latest death, 43-year-old Keith Lamont Scott of Charlotte, North Carolina, occurred the night Lynch’s interview aired.

Lynch finished his thoughts by saying that that if people aren’t truly racist, then they won’t see his peaceful protest against police brutality as “a threat to America, but just addressing the problem that we have.”

Watch the interview below.

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