Muhammad Ali‘s 2nd wife, Khalilah Camacho Ali wants controversial NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick to apologize for his ongoing protests against the American flag.
Khalilah, 66, believes the San Francisco 49ers star is selfishly drawing attention to himself by refusing to stand during the national anthem at preseason NFL games.
Kaepernick, who is biracial, vowed to continue protesting the American flag as long as minorities are oppressed in America.
But Khalilah agrees with others who say using his workplace as a platform to protest is sending the wrong message.
“What he’s doing right now is not heroic,” she told gossip tabloid TMZ.
“I would love to meet with him or talk to him on the phone to help share his message in a better way,” she continued.
“The first thing I would do is ask him about his stance on humanity… what exactly is he trying to improve and how is he going to make that happen?
“Next, I’d have him make a retraction for his actions against the American flag. He needs to apologize.”
Khalilah wants to help the 28-year-old choose his battles more wisely. She told TMZ she helped Muhammad Ali decide between going to the army or to jail when he protested the American military draft in the 1960s.
“He listened to my every word,” she said, adding that Ali’s decision to go to prison rather than be inducted had an impact on America, even though he never saw a day behind bars.
“Colin could absolutely have the same impact if he made the right decisions to really make a difference,” she said.
“If he is willing to get off his high horse and humble himself, we could do a lot of good together.”
Khalilah married Ali in 1967 when she was 17. They divorced 10 years later.
She is the mother of four of Ali’s 8 children — daughters Maryum, 48; twins Rasheda and Jamillah, 46; and son Muhammad Ali, Jr., 44.
Kaepernick also angered the police association by wearing socks featuring pigs heads wearing police caps.
The Santa Clara Police Officers’ Association has threatened to pull all 70 of its officers from the 49ers home opener against the L.A. Rams on September 12.
After his last preseason game, Kaepernick said he is not “anti-American” and he loves America.
He pledged to donate $1 million to charity this year. He has already donated $60,000 to buy backpacks for school children in Harlem and the Bronx, NY.
