Former San Fransisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick started an entire movement at a 2016 game after he famously kneeled during the national anthem in protest of police brutality. Four years later and the current climate in the United States is seemingly more divisive than ever. Shortly after the May police killing of 46-year-old Black man George Floyd, the country erupted with protests and shouts of “black lives matter” filled the streets.
In a sign of solidarity, Dr. Dre and Kaepernick took a ceremonious knee for Instagram. He shared the photo with his five million Instagram followers on Sunday (July 26), writing in the caption, “Defiant,” a nod to his HBO docu-series The Defiant Ones.
Unsurprisingly, Dre’s comment section lit up with reactions from his famous friends. DJ Jazzy Jeff offered a simple, “My brother,” while Busta Rhymes and producer Hi-Tek spoke using a series of crown and strong arm emojis.
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But the post also drew some criticisms. Comments such as “do something with your money instead of just kneeling and posting pictures with washed up a football player who plays victim” and “Millionaires can’t talk about oppression. Kaepernick is a joke” were also prevalent, again demonstrating the divisiveness of American society.
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Dre and Kaepernick have been in business together for several years; the football star had an endorsement deal with Beats by Dre beginning in 2013. According to TMZ Sports, Dre’s billion-dollar company just signed NASCAR’s only Black driver Bubba Wallace who made headlines recently when a noose was found in his garage at Alabama’s Talladega Superspeedway.
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“No one should ever be asked to apologize for standing up for what’s right,” the company said after signing Wallace earlier this month. “We are proud to welcome @bubbawallace to the Beats by Dr. Dre family.”
Meanwhile, Kaepernick is dead set on getting back into the National Football League. He’s reportedly been training for months.
