According to a religious adviser to President Donald Trump, embattled NFL free agent Colin Kaepernick has been invited to attend a summit on race at the White House. The announcement was made by Pastor Darrell Scott who told People Magazine that President Trump had set up the meeting and extended an invitation to the Super Bowl Quarterback.
Invitations have also been extended to other athletes and entertainers, all of different races and political leanings, including rapper Kanye West who has been criticized heavily in recent days for his advocacy of President Trump.
“We don’t want to sanitize it,” Scott told People Magazine. “I want people from the left to attend. I want it to get heated but I want it to be respectful … I want them to see and know the Donald Trump I know and they will say, ‘This guy isn’t who I’ve been led to believe he is.'”
Kaepernick first caught the attention of the mainstream media back in 2017 when he decided to kneel during the National Anthem at a preseason game. Kaepernick said that the move was meant to draw attention to social injustice and unfair treatment of minorities in the United States.
As the protest spread and other players began taking part, the President addressed the movement by referring to the players as “sons of bitches” and saying he would fire any player that participated if he were an NFL owner.
The President’s comments exacerbated the rift and countless other players and teams refused to stand for the national anthem. The protests also quickly spread to other major sports teams and leagues, with Major League Baseball players, High School football players and even NCAA basketball players refused to stand for the National Anthem.
Scott contents that Mr. Trump sees the summit as vehicle for unity. “The president said that this will go a long way in bringing everybody together,” he says. “He wants to bring this nation together.”
Photo by 2nd Lt. Keenan Kunst via U.S. Air Force