Hall of Famer Jerry Rice, who first advised 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick to show respect for the American flag, tweeted this week that he didn't know about the political movement that's swept the nation for the last four years with regard to black men getting killed in the United States.
"When I said {All Lives Matter} I didn't know about the movement going on between {Black Lives Matter}. I want to apologize for my mistake," Rice tweeted on Wednesday.
How Rice wasn't aware of the movement wasn't really explained. The issue has been front and center since 2012, when unarmed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was killed in Florida by George Zimmerman.
What prompted Wednesday's tweet followed what Rice tweeted in August, and has since been deleted.
It was then that the former legendary wide receiver for the 49ers chimed in on the Kaepernick controversy. He told Kaepernick he disagreed in part with the QB's decision to sit during the national anthem to take a stand over what he views as police brutality and people of color.
"All lives matter," Rice tweeted. "So much going on in this world today. Can we all just get along! Colin, I respect your stance but don't disrespect the Flag."
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Since 2012, Black Lives Matter has grown from a localized grassroots effort into an international activist movement, mostly with large protests and rallies, which intensify with each black man killed at the hands of police. The issue is discussed, and broadcast regularly on mainstream and social media.
As a result, several counter movements have cropped up, including people who say "All Lives Matter" and "Blue Lives Matter."
President Barack Obama addressed this thorny issue in July, while speaking at a criminal justice panel with Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck. Obama tried to explain what "Black Lives Matter" means vs. "All Lives Matter.
“I think the reason that the organizers used the phrase 'Black Lives Matter' was not because they were suggesting nobody else’s lives matter,” Obama said. “What they were suggesting was, there is a specific problem that is happening in the African-American community that’s not happening in other communities. And that is a legitimate issue that we’ve got to address.”
Then in October, Obama elaborated a bit, as he spoke to prosecutors and police chiefs at the White House:
"Everybody understands that all lives matter," Obama said. "Everybody wants strong, effective law enforcement. Everybody wants their kids to be safe when they are walking across the street. Nobody wants to see police officers who are doing their jobs fairly hurt. Everybody understands it’s a dangerous job."
The phrase "black lives matter” is not reverse racism, Obama said, but rather a recognition of "a specific problem that is happening in African American communities that is not happening in other communities.”
