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Tony Stewart, Brad Keselowski respond to Kaepernick story

Tony Stewart. (AP)
Tony Stewart. (AP)

If you’ve been anywhere near a television over the last three days, you’ve seen the story of San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who refused to stand for the National Anthem prior to a Friday night preseason game.

“I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color,” Kaepernick said. “To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.”

As anyone with a pulse, including Kaepernick himself, could have anticipated from three miles away, the move drew strident outrage from some, grudging acknowledgement of Kaepernick’s rights from others. Kaepernick unleashed an armada of high horses for anyone and everyone to saddle up, and everyone from football coaches to your Facebook friends to, now, NASCAR drivers is taking full advantage.

Shortly after Kaepernick’s story broke, Brad Keselowski noted the way “rights” break in multiple directions:

But on Monday afternoon, Tony Stewart took a more direct approach:

No fanbase pays more attention and devotion to the National Anthem than NASCAR’s. Fans will complain openly and loudly if they don’t like a rendition of an anthem, or if they believe drivers or crew members aren’t properly hand-on-heart respectful during the anthem. So a majority of Stewart’s traditional NASCAR-based audience is surely in his corner.

Of course, Twitter reaches more than just one’s own provincial audience, and Twitter responded to Stewart’s criticism by reminding him of his involvement in the accident that caused the death of Kevin Ward Jr. two years ago. Stewart’s role in Ward’s death, which authorities ruled an accident, isn’t relevant to the Kaepernick story, but it’s a reminder that no one can offer a strong opinion and hope to escape the viper pit of social media unscathed.

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Jay Busbee is a writer for Yahoo Sports and the author of EARNHARDT NATION, on sale now at Amazon or wherever books are sold. Contact him at jay.busbee@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter or on Facebook.