Former Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis is blaming Colin Kaepernick’s girlfriend Nessa Diab for the Ravens’ decision not to sign the blackballed athlete.
In early August, Lewis provided the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback with unsolicited guidance when he told the former quarterback to keep his politics off the field.
“What you do off the field, don’t let too many people know because they gonna judge you anyway,” Lewis said in a video he posted to Twitter last month. “No matter what you do. No matter if it’s good or bad.”
Lewis’ comment came after fellow retired NFL player Michael Vick advised Kaepernick cut his hair to maintain a professional appearance. In response, Kaepernick broke down the meaning of Stockholm Syndrome on Instagram. After Lewis imparted his wisdom, the Girl Code cast member picked up the clapback baton for her boo. The same night, Diab compared Lewis to the Uncle Tom archetype manifested in the self-hating house slave Stephen played by Samuel L. Jackson in Django Unchained.
🎯 @raylewis pic.twitter.com/N9k7nDgmDh
— NESSA (@nessnitty) August 3, 2017
On Tuesday, Lewis, who has a history of misappropriating blame during discussions of systemic oppression, claimed the comedian’s tweet was racist. The 42-year-old said Diab’s shade was the ultimate reason the Ravens opted out of signing Kaepernick.
“We were going to close the deal to sign him,” Lewis said on Inside the NFL. “Steve Bisciotti said, ‘I want to hear Colin Kaepernick speak to let me know that he wants to play football.’ And it never happens because that picture comes up the next day.”
“[Diab] goes out and put[s] out this racist gesture and doesn’t know we are in the back office about to try to get this guy signed,” Lewis continued.
The 2017 NFL season kicks off on Thursday and Kaepernick remains unsigned.
