In the aftermath of San Francisco 49ers star Nick Bosa interrupting a teammate’s interview to show off a ‘Make America Great Again’ hat, NFL fans have been calling out hypocrisy from the last time a Niner made a political statement.
In a post-game interview with NBC after beating the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday Night Football, Niners quarterback Brock Purdy got interrupted by Bosa – who leaned in between Purdy and the reporter he was speaking to while pointing at a white MAGA hat he was wearing.
The NFL has strict rules regarding political statements made by players, which reads, ‘The league will not grant permission for any club or player to wear, display, or otherwise convey messages, through helmet decals, arm bands, jersey patches, mouthpieces, or other items affixed to game uniforms or equipment which relate to political activities or causes, other non-football events, causes or campaigns, or charitable causes or campaigns.’
Neither the NFL or the 49ers have announced any kind of punishment for Bosa – which is leading many on social media to call out perceived hypocrisy for the league’s treatment of another Niner who took a political stance: former quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
To recap, back in 2016, Kaepernick was looking for a way to protest against police brutality in the United States. After consulting with former military members, he chose to take a knee while the National Anthem was played during that season.
NFL fans are calling out perceived hypocrisy after Niners DE Nick Bosa’s MAGA hat incident
After the 2016 season, Kaepernick opted out of his contract and no teams signed him again – effectively ending his NFL career.
In his final season, Kaepernick’s passer rating was 90.7 – better than over half of the NFL at the time – which lead to allegations that teams were blackballing him because of his political statements.
In October of 2017, Kaepernick filed a lawsuit against the NFL – accusing the league’s owners of colluding to keep him out of the league. That led to a settlement between the former quarterback and the NFL in 2019.
Kaepernick’s protests remain polarizing, which has many outraged that Bosa has received next to no professional consequences for his statement.
On X, formerly Twitter, a number of fans, former athletes, and reporters shared their outrage at the situation.
‘If you were outraged when Kaepernick took a knee, told him to stay in his place, screamed he should never play in the NFL again etc etc but are praising Nick Bosa for having the courage to use his platform as an athlete to stand up for what he believes in… YOU ARE A HYPOCRITE,’ wrote former NBA player Etan Thomas.
When asked if she’d have the same position if Bosa wore a Harris/Walz hat, former SportsCenter host and current writer for The Atlantic Jemele Hill wrote, ‘I’d have the same position.
Hill continued: ‘A reminder that when Colin Kaepernick took a knee in protest in 2016, he stood before the media multiple times and defended his stance and answered EVERY question.
‘By displaying a MAGA hat on national television, it is more than fair now for the media to ask Bosa about if his beliefs align with Trump’s, if he also considers migrants and undocumented workers to be “vermin” and “invaders.” It’s fair game. I will be curious to see if the media keeps this energy with Bosa that they did with Kaepernick.’
They’re comparing it to the treatment that former Niners QB Colin Kaepernick received
Kaepernick knelt for the anthem in 2016 and then hasn’t played in the NFL since
Other fans expressed their outrage as well: ‘He’d [Bosa] better get the same f***ing treatment as Kaepernick! If not y’all just proved how f***ing racist you really are!’
‘Wait a minute, why did right wing media tell Kaepernick to shut up and play, but they’re all praising Nick Bosa for exercising his “freedom of speech” now? What could possibly be the difference…,’ wrote one user.
Another said, ‘Remember when Colin Kaepernick, with the very same organization, asked an active Marine how to protest then did so and every knuckle dragging dips**t lost their mind screaming “stick to sports”? Eat s**t you a**holes.’
‘If the NFL doesn’t treat Bosa the way it treated Kaepernick, it’s basically admitting it was just racism the whole time,’ said another user.
Another posted, ‘Let me get this straight. Colin Kaepernick took a team to the Super Bowl, then took a knee in silence, got blackballed, never to play again. Nick Bosa’s out on national TV flashing the 21st century equivalent of the swastika armband and the @NFL will do ????’
Bosa has been outspoken about his political beliefs in the past – which landed him in hot water in the run up to the 2019 NFL Draft.
Before being selected second overall by the Niners, Bosa gained media attention for a number of posts, shares, retweets, and likes on Twitter and Instagram that contained racist and homophobic language.
He deleted a number of tweets that supported Trump and tweets criticizing Kaepernick, calling him a ‘clown’. He also deleted tweets that criticized Beyoncé and the Marvel movie ‘Black Panther’.
Bosa previously got into trouble for posts containing racist and homophobic language
Bosa was also found to have ‘liked’ posts by others that contained racist and homophobic language and hashtags.
That included tweets where his friends and others used the ‘n-word’, a homophobic tweet about the NFL’s first publicly gay player Michael Sam, and a tweet praising Trump’s call for violence against protestors.
Bosa apologized for the posts in a press conference after being drafted by the 49ers.
