“It would send a message that he’s less interested in activism and more interested in athleticism.”
As Michael Vick continues to field heat for his comments pertaining to Colin Kaepernick’s afro hair style affecting his job status, Clay Travis thinks Vick’s ‘make yourself appear more presentable’ sentiment is a lot more layered than any average person with scraggly looks simply getting a trim and shaving.
“He’s trying to look like a modern day Black Panther,” Travis said of the hairstyle that is deeply rooted in the Civil Rights Movements of the 60’s and 70’s that saw the afro become a powerful symbol of black pride. “People say ‘oh, well Clay Matthews has long hair, Troy Polamalu’s got long hair, look at Ryan Fitzpatrick’s beard’ – those guys are employed, and their choice of what they do with their hair or their facial hair isn’t a political statement.”
Travis says it’s ironic that one of Kaepernick’s most formidable supporters, ESPN, has been so vocal in their outrage towards Vick, yet their own company policies would forbid Kaepernick from having such a hairstyle on-air.
“Colin Kaepernick couldn’t be employed by ESPN and go on and talk on the television network with that afro – that violates Disney’s hair code, he’d have to put it into corn rows. He couldn’t deliver packages for UPS or for FedEx. He couldn’t work as a flight attendant, he couldn’t be a solider; there are lots of jobs where your appearance matters.”
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