'I Won't Be Silent:' Black Athletes Pick Sides in US Race War

As the racial war of narratives escalates in the United States, a slew of high-profile Black celebrities are raising the decibel level of their protests against police brutality and systemic racism.

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The latest to turn up the heat is tennis superstar Serena Williams—widely considered the best athlete of her generation—who in a Facebook post wrote about police killings of Black people in the United States. She recounted how when she was in a car on Tuesday, being driven by her nephew, she saw a police car on the side of the road.  

“I remembered that horrible video of the woman in the car when a cop shot her boyfriend,” she wrote, referring to Philando Castile, whose girlfriend used Facebook Live to broadcast his killing by police. “I even regretted not driving myself. I would never forgive myself if something happened to my nephew. He’s so innocent. So were all ‘the others.'”

“Why did I have to think about this in 2016?” she continued. “Have we not gone through enough, opened so many doors, impacted billions of lives? But I realized we must stride on – for it’s not how far we have come but how much further still we have to go.”

In an earlier interview this year in the aftermath of Castille’s shooting, Williams told reporter Ben Rothenberg: “I do have nephews that I’m thinking, Do I have to call them and tell them, ‘Don’t go outside. If you get in your car, it might be the last time I see you.'” She went on to say: “I don’t think that the answer is to continue to shoot our young Black men in the United States. It’s just unfortunate. Or just Black people in general.”

Her latest comments come on the heels of San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s continued protests against police brutality in the country. Kaepernick’s refusal to stand for the national anthem has inspired scores of athletes to do the same, but it has also invited vitriol from the moral vanguards of patriotism in the nation.

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When asked about Monday’s presidential debate between U.S. Republican nominee Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, Kaepernick said, "I watched a little bit of it … to me it was embarrassing to watch that these are our two candidates," the Mercury News reported.

"Both are proven liars and it almost seems like they're trying to debate who's less racist," he continued. "At this point, in talking to one of my friends, you have to pick the lesser of two evils, but the end is still evil."

In response to Trump’s suggestion that he leave the country, the football star told reporters, "That's a very ignorant statement, that if you don't agree with what's going on here and if you want justice and liberty and freedom for all, that you should leave the country … Trump always says, 'Make America Great Again.' Well, America's never been great for people of color. And that's something that needs to be addressed. Let's make America great for the first time."

Late Monday, television personality Bill Maher added his to the long roster of white celebrities who have excoriated Kaepernick, writing on Twitter that the athlete is "an idiot. I support his protest, but stick to what u know. kneeling and interceptions and then look up "false equivalency."

Earlier Monday, Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James also weighed in on the current racial strife in the United States, telling reporters gathered for the NBA's media day that he fears for the lives of his children, saying: “I look at my son being four years removed from driving his own car and being able to leave the house on his own and it’s a scary thought right now to think if my son gets pulled over.”