Steph Curry is featured on the latest Sports Illustrated cover — but he’s not happy about it.
After having his invitation to the White House rescinded by President Trump last weekend, the Golden State Warriors point guard is one of 10 sports figures featured linking arms in SI’s digitally-created cover, which proclaims “Sports United.”
However, Curry shares the opinion of many social media users that it was a mistake to omit Colin Kaepernick from the group, as it was the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback who launched the protest against social injustice last year.
Stephen Curry on the SI cover and how it omitted Colin Kaepernick. pic.twitter.com/z8mw76kTGU
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) September 27, 2017
“That was terrible. It’s just kind of capitalizing on the hoopla and the media and all that nonsense,” Curry said in an interview captured on Twitter by ESPN NBA reporter Chris Haynes. “The real people that understand exactly what’s been going on, and who’s really been active and vocal and truly making a difference, if you don’t have Kaepernick front and center on that, something’s wrong.
“It’s kind of hard to see how certain narratives take place, being prisoners of the moment,” the two-time NBA champion went on to say. “I was kind of joking around yesterday when I saw that certain Instagram handle. At the end of the day, that stuff really doesn’t matter. It’s about the true message and really highlighting the people that are doing the right thing.”
The SI cover in question addresses the ongoing debate over NFL players protesting racial inequality in the U.S. by kneeling during the national anthem. Along with Curry, it features prominent figures in sports, including NBA players LeBron James, Aaron Rodgers, Michael Bennett and even NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.
Following backlash on Twitter regarding the absence of Kaepernick, SI Executive Editor Stephen Cannella said the NFL free agent is missing to shed light on “the way new voices emerged” have emerged in the national debate.
“In some ways, even though his picture is not there, in some ways Colin Kaepernick is there, I think we all know that,” Cannella said during Tuesday’s “SI NOW.”
“Colin Kaepernick is, for a lack of a better word, looming over everything that happened this weekend, and looms over many issues in society right now,” he continued. “I thought what we were trying to capture with this cover is the way new voices emerged this weekend, and the way this debate, this issue, this protest movement has sort of evolved even beyond Colin Kaepernick.”
“He’s the guy who sort of started it all, I think we see a lot more people in various ways sort of join the movement for lack of a better term this weekend. That’s what we were trying to capture with this cover,” Cannella went on. “Colin Kaepernick is on that cover, even if his face isn’t, and his name’s not there, we all know who stands behind this movement, we all know who got it started. Colin Kaepernick has many more brothers today than he did a week ago.”
See the cover in question below.
https://twitter.com/SInow/status/912663109130756097?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thewrap.com%2Fauto-draft-74%2F