UFC fighter Jorge Masvidal blasted Colin Kaepernick in a since-deleted Instagram Story post over the weekend.
Masvidal was born in Miami to a Cuban father, who fled Cuba’s communist regime at age 14. Masvidal has supported President Donald Trump and long expressed anti-communist views, which are rooted in horror stories shared with him by his Cuban father.
The UFC welterweight posted a video on social media on July 12 to bring awareness to the “SOS” protests in Cuba. (Warning: Inappropriate language is used in the video.)
Masvidal again posted about the SOS Cuba protests on July 17. He dispelled the media/Twitter narrative that Cubans were protesting because of a lack of access to the COVID-19 vaccine. Rather, Masvidal says the people are protesting because they are seeking freedom from the oppressive government.
He continued to post about the matter via Instagram. He shared another account’s post on his Instagram Story. That post shared a photo of Kaepernick wearing a shirt featuring late Cuban dictator Fidel Castro.
The meme text stated: “American leftists who know nothing about real oppression and communism wear images of Castro … while Cubans living in the horrors of communism and real oppression are waving the American flag.”
Masvidal added his own commentary. He wrote “Know ur (SIC) history and facts cowards like this fool should be sent to live in Cuba see what they say after a day there.”
Kaepernick wore the shirt in 2016 ahead of a San Francisco 49ers game against the Miami Dolphins. Kaepernick lauded Castro for the literacy rates in Cuba under his regime. The former quarterback omitted key caveats, such as how the citizens there may have had high literacy rates, but they are restricted to reading only what the government allows. That is only a minor example of the limitations on freedoms the Cuban government allows, which has Masvidal, and so many others who are intimate with the oppression going on in the country, supporting the citizens who are protesting.
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