'We're All Kind Of Waking Up To It': Kirk Cousins Talks On Colin Kaepernick Taking Knee
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins says that the league is "waking up" to what Colin Kaepernick was attempting to say when, some seasons back, he started taking a knee during the national anthem.
Video posted by House of Highlights on Twitter shows Cousins discussing where the conversation has brought him.
"I think for me it's been just a great time to learn and to listen. There's clearly been a lot that, you know, someone like me, growing up white, just has learned a lot of stuff that I say, 'Wow, I didn't realize that that was the experience of my teammates as often as it is,'" Cousins said. "And just to be able to say, you know, 'What has this been like for you? And how real has this been, and how far back does this go for you growing up?' and to hear stories and experiences, I guess I'm disappointed that I'm 31 years old and I didn't know this about my teammates as readily as until now."
Kaepernick has not played in the NFL since 2016 when he started kneeling during the national anthem to protest police brutality and systematic racism.
Cousins added that he regarded the conversations that have opened up this summer amid the George Floyd protests as a good thing, but "we have a long ways to go, too. It's just kind of the start of the conversation."
