NewsNational News

Actions

Kaepernick’s pro-Castro comments anger Miami fans

Posted at 5:40 PM, Nov 27, 2016
and last updated 2016-11-27 17:40:22-05

Colin Kaepernick was greeted with a chorus of boos Sunday when he took the field at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.

It wasn’t just because he leading the San Francisco 49ers against the home-standing the Miami Dolphins.

Miami is home to a large community of Cuban exiles and they are outraged by Kaepernick’s support of the man they consider a brutal oppressor, the now-deceased Cuban leader Fidel Castro.

Kaepernick is used to being booed. He’s been raising a streak of controversies ever since his August decision to sit in protest during the national anthem before an NFL preseason game.

After that game, he showed up at a news conference wearing a T-shirt depicting a meeting between Castro, who was alive then, and the late black rights activist Malcolm X.

During an interview with Miami reporters on Wednesday, Kaepernick defended his choice to wear the T-shirt, according to Miami Herald columnist Armando Salguero’s personal account.

Over a teleconference call, Kaepernick reportedly praised Castro for investing in Cuba’s education system, as opposed to the American investment in the prison system, according to Salguero.

Kaepernick got a lot of criticism earlier this month. He didn’t vote in the recent election, saying it would be “hypocritical” of him to cast a ballot.

The Miami fans didn’t distract Kaepernick too much. He threw a touchdown pass in the first quarter.

Castro died Friday at 90.