Colin Kaepernick's Pro-Castro Comments Rile Miami Dolphin Fans

Miami Dolphins fans greeted San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick with boos when he made it onto the field for Sunday’s game at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.

Football rivals? Yes. But it didn’t help that Kaepernick made pro-Fidel Castro comments during a teleconference call Wednesday defending his choice three months earlier to wear a T-shirt depicting a meeting between Castro and Malcolm X with the words underneath, “Like minds think alike.”

“One thing Fidel Castro did do is they have the highest literacy rate because they invest more in their education system than they do in their prison system, which we do not do here,” he told a Miami Herald reporter on Wednesday.

Also Read: Colin Kaepernick: Support for National Anthem Protest 'Gave Me Life' (Video)

A large portion of the Miami community is made up of Cuban exiles who suffered under Castro’s regime and risked their lives to flee to the U.S. Their outrage about Kaepernick’s support of a man many consider a heartless oppressor turned into a vocal protest when the quarterback took the field on Sunday.

“Colin Kaepernick should think long and hard about the message he’s sending,” Miami Judge Alex Ferrer told CNN. “We already know who Fidel Castro was. Cubans do, but you don’t have to be Cuban to know that he is a murdering thug, just like I don’t have to be black to know that the KKK is a massively racist organization.

Also Read: Colin Kaepernick-Inspired #boycottNFL Divides Twitter

“But what this tells us is who Collin Kaepernick is,” Ferrer continued. “You can’t on the one hand kneel in protest saying that you are for freedom for everybody and say that you are against systemic oppression and wear on your shirt a picture of the biggest oppressor in the world — a guy who executed people by firing squad without a trial, a guy who is responsible for the deaths of women and children by having his Coast Guard ram their boats as they try to flee the island that is apparently such a paradise that Collin wants to tout it.”

Asked what Castro would have done if Kaepernick didn’t stand for Cuba’s national anthem, Judge Ferrer said, “He would be beaten to a senseless pulp.”

9 People Fired or Suspended for Black Lives Matter Comments (Photos)

In light of the recent fatal shootings of Keith L. Scott and Terence Crutcher and the subsequent protests, TheWrap looks back at the people who expressed their grievances on social media during the Dallas shootings of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling and the demonstrations that followed. Here are 9 individuals whose voices were heard -- and who got in trouble for it.
Nate Weekley, a Detroit detective, was demoted to officer after posting on Facebook that "the only racists here are the piece of s--- Black Lives Matter terrorists and their supporters," reported the Detroit News.

The Daily Mail reported that Weekley's brother, Joseph Weekley, was a cop who was charged with involuntary manslaughter after accidentally killing a 7-year-old black girl during a raid.
Facebook
The first black Miss Alabama, Kalyn Chapman, was placed on administrative leave from her job at a South Florida PBS station after she posted a video in which she called the Dallas sniper a "martyr."

Also Read: Former Miss Alabama Calls Dallas Sniper ‘Martyr,’ Suspended From TV Gig (Video)

In her video she stated: "I'm dealing with a bit of guilt" because "I value human life. And I want to feel sad for them, but I can't help but feeling like the shooter was a martyr."

TheWrap
She later told news outlet WPMI that what the shooter did "was wrong, period," adding, "maybe martyr wasn’t the right word but it was what came to mind at that time.”
Fox
Charles Beau Menefee lost his job as a news producer at CBS46 in Atlanta after a slew of Facebook posts, including one in which he said "it would be cool if someone rained gunfire down on to the ignorant human turds at the next #blacklivesmatter March."
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A South Carolina fire captain, Jimmy Morris, was fired after saying that he was going to run over Black Lives Matter protestors on Facebook, The State newspaper said. The Miami Herald reported that two other firefighters were fired in association with Morris' post.
Facebook
An Overland Park, Kansas police officer was fired after posting a menacing comment on a woman's Facebook photo, according to local channel KCTV.

Also Read: What is Black Lives Matter? A Short Explainer
KCTV
A North Carolina deputy, Andrew Sutton, was suspended after joking on Facebook about killing people and calling Black Lives Matter followers "ignorant blind sheep."
ABC13
A Tennessee deputy, Jeremy McNary, was suspended after saying Black Lives Matter protestors should be hosed for blocking a highway, according to the New York Daily News.
Facebook
McNary's uncle told the Daily News that his nephew had served in the Marines and that he is not a racist nor bad cop, referencing a time he saved a child from drowning.
New York Daily News/Facebook
Diane Amoratis, a Jefferson Health employee, condemned Black Lives Matter protestors and praised police for dealing with a "fat, braided hair, piece of s--- troublemaker..." Philly.com reported. She added that a BLM protest should have been "bulldozed."

Jefferson Health ended up posting that "the individual is no longer at Jefferson."
Philly.com
Sgt. Derek Hale, a Louisville corrections sergeant was suspended after posting a contentious Facebook meme, according to WDRB. It featured an officer with the words: "If we really wanted you dead all we’d have to do is stop patrolling your neighborhoods... and wait."

Hale's caption read: "Ha … truth."

Also Read: What Is ‘All Lives Matter’? A Short Explainer
WDRB

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BLM opponents suffered consequences for airing grievances after the protests

In light of the recent fatal shootings of Keith L. Scott and Terence Crutcher and the subsequent protests, TheWrap looks back at the people who expressed their grievances on social media during the Dallas shootings of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling and the demonstrations that followed. Here are 9 individuals whose voices were heard -- and who got in trouble for it.

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9 People Fired or Suspended for Black Lives Matter Comments (Photos)

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