COREY TAYLOR Defends NFL Players Taking A Knee

September 30, 2017

Corey Taylor has stood up for the NFL players' protest of racial injustice in the wake of the backlash from President Donald Trump.

The SLIPKNOT and STONE SOUR frontman, who has described himself as "a socially liberal and fiscally conservative guy," discussed the athletes kneeling in protest during the national anthem while speaking to the Fargo radio station Q105.1 this past Thursday (September 28).

"I think a lot of people have been very secure in their freedom for a very long time, so they're looking for things to bitch about now — not on the football players' side; I'm talking about the other side," he said (see video below).

"The whole reason that football players are kneeling during the national anthem is to call attention to the fact that police brutality is out of control. There have already been seven hundred and twelve people killed while in police [custody] this year alone. That is a huge, huge number. The whole reason that people are doing that is to call attention to that, and the fact that most of [the police officers], their body cameras weren't working. Yeah, sure, okay, whatever. But you've got a handful of asshats that are trying to make it about something that it's not."

Earlier in the month, Trump called for a boycott of the NFL if team owners did not take action against players who did not stand during the national anthem. He had said that a player who kneeled during the anthem was a "son of a bitch" who should be taken off the field.

"First of all, this is America. You've got the right to protest; it is right in the goddamn Constitution," Taylor told Q105.1. "This is a peaceful protest. It is not disrespecting the troops, no matter how much you try to twist it that way.

"People need to get over themselves," Corey continued. "And they need to realize that that president that you're all supporting is taking us even closer to the goddamn brink of war. I'm not saying it's gonna get there, but I think people need to get their goddamn priorities straight before they start bitching about people kneeling for a very good cause."

The controversy started simmering over a year ago when former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick was the first to kneel during the national anthem.

Players who have gotten on one knee during the anthem have said that it is a form a protest against police shootings and racial injustice.

A number of musicians and celebrities have shown their solidarity with the athletes for not standing during the anthem. PEARL JAM offered support for "everyone's constitutional right to stand up, sit down or #takeaknee for equality," while LIVING COLOUR guitarist Vernon Reid pointed out in a tweet that the protests aren't against the flag or the anthem but institutionalized racism. PEARL JAM frontman Eddie Vedder and PROPHETS OF RAGE are among the artists who have posted pictures or videos of themselves "taking a knee" in concert . Others, like STRYPER frontman Michael Sweet, have said that players should just "play ball and do the job that you get paid millions and millions of dollars to do."

Outspoken conservative rocker Ted Nugent showed support for Trump in a Facebook post titled "Take A Knee."

"When you use the banner under which they fought as a source for your displeasure, you dishonor the memories of those who bled for the very freedoms you have," Nugent wrote in the post.

Ted also expressed displeasure with the players for disrespecting what the flag stands for.

"That's what the red stripes mean," he wrote. "It represents the blood of those who spilled a sea of it defending your liberty."

Nugent went on to suggest that by not standing during the national anthem, the players didn't honor the sacrifices made by so many veterans.

"You haven't an inkling what it took to get you where you are; but your 'protest' is duly noted," he wrote.

Find more on Slipknot
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • reddit
  • email

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).