Torrey Smith is no longer Colin Kaepernick's teammate, but he had the quarterback's back on Tuesday.
Smith wasn't too happy with comments made by Giants president and CEO John Mara regarding fan responses he's received stemming from Kaepernick's protesting last season.
Here's what Mara said to The MMQB:
All my years being in the league, I never received more emotional mail from people than I did about that issue. 'If any of your players ever do that, we are never coming to another Giants game.' It wasn't one or two letters. It was a lot. It's an emotional, emotional issue for a lot of people, moreso than any other issue I've run into.
Smith vented a bit on Twitter Monday morning.
It's amazing what folks consider going too far..you can do all kinds of crazy things and get a 2nd chance but you can't get over a protest? https://t.co/raCwpONRdq— Torrey Smith (@TorreySmithWR) May 29, 2017
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My issue really isn't just the hate on Kap...it's what folks prioritize as wrong....hit a woman cool...sexual assault cool...kneel OH NO— Torrey Smith (@TorreySmithWR) May 29, 2017
He then talked further about the topic after Eagles OTAs on Tuesday. Smith brought up former Giants kicker Josh Brown, who had admitted to domestic violence against his wife in October 2016. Brown, now a free agent, was re-signed by New York later that summer.
In bulk, here's what Smith had to say, via ESPN:
I heard he's one of the best owners in the league, so I don't want people to think I'm disrespecting this guy. I'm not. But it's just the fact that he commented about people, the fans, being mad about that but you just had a [kicker] on your team who you were trying to hold onto for dear life until it was too late.
People are accepting and willing to [forgive] people when they beat the hell out of women, sell drugs, do whatever and commit all kinds of crimes and you're able to forget that. I'm a believer in second chances. I believe in second chances for a guy like [Bengals rookie] Joe Mixon even though I'm an advocate against domestic violence.
But I think you have to be open-minded to know that [Kaepernick] did not commit a crime, he didn't hurt anybody, he didn't do anything. It was a protest, and now people are kind of locking him out or don't want to support anybody that's associated with him when you're willing to support people who beat women, do all kinds of other crazy things. It just doesn't make sense.
Smith played the past two seasons with Kaepernick in San Francisco. Smith signed with the Eagles this offseason, while Kaepernick remains a free agent.
Smith said Kaepernick's well-publicized protests during the national anthem last season were not a distraction for the 49ers.
"It's only a distraction when ya'll (the media) ask people about it," Smith said Tuesday, via CSNPhilly.com's Reuben Frank. "You've got to do your job, that's what you guys do, but it's understood. … First of all, [Kaepernick] did it quiet, no one even knew he did it. He had to address it once everyone knew and the media was there and he was like, 'This is what we're going to do.'
"So it got to the point with us where it was like, alright, this is what he's going to do, you know it's going to be 90 seconds before every game or however long the anthem takes, this is what he's going to do. And then that's it. It's not like you're in the huddle, he's calling a play and you're like, 'Man, this dude just took a knee.' You're trying to win a ballgame. It wasn't a big deal at the end of the day."
