ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Derek Wolfe is not afraid to speak his mind.
“I stand because I respect the men who died in real battle, so I have the freedom to battle on the field,” he said in a statement released to ESPN’s Josina Anderson on Sunday morning. “Paying tribute to the men and women who have given their lives for our freedom is why I stand. But everyone these days likes to find a reason to protest, and that’s their right. It’s America, and you are free to speak your mind. I just feel it’s disrespectful to the ones who sacrificed their lives and maybe the wrong platform. But like I said, to each their own, it’s AMERICA! The greatest country in the world and if you don’t think we are the greatest country in the world and you reside here, then why do you stay? A lot worse places in the world to call home. Proud to be an American.”
The statement sparked a lot of controversy, most of it surrounding the “why do you stay?” comment. One headline read, “Broncos Derek Wolfe Basically Tells His Black Teammates to Go Back to Africa For Protesting Racism in America.”
And you wonder why Wolfe took issue with the media earlier this year?
“I’m going to hold you guys accountable just like you hold me accountable,” he said in August. “If you have a question about me or my teammates, you ask me or my teammates, and we’ll answer it.”
So on Sunday evening in Buffalo, we did go to the Denver Broncos defensive lineman and gave him a chance to explain not basically what he meant, but exactly what he meant.
“I wasn’t saying that if you’re taking a knee, then you should leave. No,” Wolfe explained frankly. “People took it way out of context, that’s not what I’m saying.”
On Monday, Wolfe again told BSN Denver that he was not directing the “why do you stay?” comment towards his teammates or anyone else that chose to kneel but at those who say they “hate America,” something that no kneeling player has done publically.
Wolfe is strong in his opinions, but he’s not a racist, he is not intolerant or closed-minded, and he doesn’t believe the president he voted for is immune to criticism. The six-year NFL vet loves his country and part that love stems from the fact that you can protest peacefully.
“This is America,” he said. “Everybody is entitled to their own opinion. You can feel any way you want to feel about anything. You can say anything you want to say anything you want to say about anything. That’s just the way it is. I feel like I’m going to stand for the National Anthem because to me it symbolizes the soldiers and the men & women who have sacrificed their lives for us.”
“For people that are taking a knee,” he added, “they’re doing it because of the social injustices that they believe are going on—that are going on.”
Whether you disagree with his political affiliation, his decision to stand, his statement from Sunday morning or anything else, Wolfe isn’t the villain you’re looking for. In fact, a lot of people could learn a thing or two about his outlook.
“We can all have our own opinion, and it’s still fine,” he said. “I’ve talked about this 100 times—me and Aqib [Talib], we have completely different views on life, but we’re the best of friends, you know what I mean? Same with me and Domata Peko, we have different views on life, but we’re still good friends. You’re allowed to have your own opinion, that’s the point of being a human, you’re allowed to feel and think the way that you want to feel and think, that’s the great part about being a human being.”
In its own way, the Denver Broncos locker room is a perfect microcosm of the values America was founded on. A group of people from different backgrounds, different religions, different views and different values all coming together, united in search of a common goal.
“We get in debates all the time in the locker room. They’re healthy debates. I’m telling my views, they’re telling their views,” he explained. “We give each other a chance to speak, and we listen to each other when we speak… I feel like the violence that’s going on and all the protesting going on, I feel like people really just need to sit down and listen to each other… Most people, whenever somebody is talking, they already have an idea of what they’re saying in their head. They’re not listening to what’s being presented, they’re thinking about what they want to take from it.”
You can disagree with him on a lot of things but it’s hard to disagree with that.
Big Bad Wolfe? No, not really.
“Love beats hate every time,” he concluded.
0 Comments (2 conversations)
I appreciate the follow up with Wolfe, RK. Though I know some wanted to vilify Wolfe for his statements, I thought he should have been praised for his statements. Overreactions abound in sports and politics, so it’s no surprise to me, but for a guy that wears a DEFWU shirt and is a verified bad ass, I like that he knows where he stands and isn’t afraid to support his opinion, while still being respectful to those that disagree. I think that’s the key in all of this, respect. I believe there is a ton of respect among teammates and coaches inside NFL (and any sports) locker rooms. However, the media (not you, but certainly others) have tried to divide teammates with click-bait headlines and gotcha stories, that are just not true to the heart of what’s going on or being said. Thanks for presenting this story in such a way as to set the record straight and let the players speak for themselves. That style of journalism is gaining a lot of traction right now amidst a climate of biases and assumptions. Keep up the good work.
Appreciate the comment and the nice words, clutch! Nice to see you over here on a Broncos story haha.
Unfortunately our country does not properly educate our K-12 students, so you have young people like Derek Wolfe who have grown up with a white washed perspective of our country. So it’s just ignorance that allows people to say such foolish things. First, Dereck probably doesn’t know that this country and it’s initial economy was was built by African Americans, and the very privilege he has is directly provided by that and 100 years of Jim Crow, legislative oppression of African Americans. So, it’s not just the military he should have respect for, but he should respect even more the African Americans that have sacrificed for over 400 years so that he could be in this country. Derek needs to read some truthful history books or listen to a couple of Tim Wise lectures on the subject. Also African Americans have fought in every American war…a very large of portion of our US Military today are African Americans and other minorities. White people have the privilege of not having to know anything about African American history and that’s why they make such ignorant comments. You should be kneeling with your brothers as their ancestors have sacrificed far more for this country than any of your white ancestors.
I can’t agree more that our education system doesn’t educate our students. You are living proof sir. PC Indoctrination is the norm now in our education system.. As far as your statement of our economy being built largely by african Americans. Sure they helped, but you seem to discount everyone else.. Biased, bigoted and uniformed comment! Ahhh Jim Crow laws…. A legacy of the democratic party. .As for Tim Wise. Just another propagandist can easily be countered by brilliant minds with differing opinions. If you discount the suffering endured by the signers of the Deceleration of Independence and their families those who have fought for our independence and freedom, you are a despicable human being.
Hi Dale, let’s have a civil and fact driven debate if your man enough and a true American patriot like myself. The signers of the declaration of independence were educated and wealthy men who owned slaves, so know they did not suffer. True, the poor Europeans who were indentured did suffer and began to realize that their suffering was more in common with the African slaves. So they tightened that bond with the slaves. The wealthy realized that they were outnumbered by the slaves and certainly so if the combined with the white indentured servants and could easily uprise and overthrow the wealthy class. So that’s when the term “white people” was created to elevate the indentured servants to be part of the white “club”. they weren’t rich but were tricked into thinking that they belonged. From there came the slave patrols and all the rest of the ignorance of non rich white people to this day. please read the following about the economy if you can handle it. http://www.pbs.org/wnet/african-americans-many-rivers-to-cross/history/why-was-cotton-king/