Jemele Hill isn’t a fan of Kyrie Irving – Kaepernick comparisons

The Atlantic columnist doesn’t care for those comparing Kyrie Irving’s activism with Colin Kaepernick’s – though she supports Irving’s efforts.

The NBA has taken on the mantle as the most socially aware professional sports league in the United States for some time now, and the Disney restart ‘bubble’ truly underscored that fact this summer.

And with that mantle comes frequent criticism akin to that seen in the NFL with the same sort of footing (and kneeling) outspoken quarterback and organizer Colin Kaepernick became in that league.

Former Boston Celtic point guard Kyrie Irving joined his former teammates Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum in questioning whether the restart might detract from a burgeoning civil rights movement unfolding during the league’s pandemic hiatus, and drew criticism and praise both for it.

Some of that included comparisons to Kaepernick, which Jemele Hill — host of the “Jemele Hill is Unbothered” podcast and Atlantic columnist — did not think fair.

Speaking on the “Heavy Live with Scoop B” show recently with Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson, Hill questioned the comparison.

“[N]o disrespect to Kyrie because I think he has been so intentional, so vocal and so genuine about being a change agent,” she explained. “Especially for what he’s extended to women in particular, to create a fund for WNBA players who decided to sit out the season because of COVID-19 concerns or wanted to focus on social justice to provide that kind of support.”

Here the former ESPN analyst refers to Irving’s $1.5 million fund he set up in the midst of the hiatus.

Designed to help keep players in the NBA’s sister league solvent while they worked out their personal paths forward, it was a class act from the Melbourne native.

“It says a lot about who Kyrie Irving is and what he cares about but, let us not lose sight of the fact that Colin Kaepernick made a very specific sacrifice and he had something taken away from him simply because he had the audacity to demand that Black people be treated as human and his whole career was stolen from him.

Kyrie Irving will still get to play basketball. He’ll still get to … maybe lead the Brooklyn Nets to a championship … Colin Kaepernick won’t get that opportunity; and so, there’s an inherent difference there that I think in terms of like-mindedness is very similar; Kyrie is about liberation and equality and support and so I think Colin is about those very same values.”

“I think that the difference is that Kyrie will be able to use his sports platform to continue to promote the things that are important and that part was taken away from Colin,” Hill added.

It may seem like a small distinction to some, but it’s an important one, and one that doesn’t detract from anything Irving has done or will do.

But it also needs acknowledgement, if for nothing less than to contextualize the degree of sacrifice Kaepernick underwent for the cause he believes in.

To be clear, it’s not required that someone supporting the cause put as much on the line as Kaep did, but conversely we can support Irving’s activism even if we want him nowhere near a Celtics roster again.

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