Civil rights group wants concerts by Kid Rock canceled

Associated Press

DETROIT

The choice of Kid Rock as the opening act for a new sports arena in mostly black Detroit has injected the musician into the national debate over race and culture because of his embrace of the Confederate flag, an expletive-laced criticism of NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick and unabashed support for President Donald Trump.

Olympia Entertainment selected Kid Rock to open the new Little Caesars Arena with concerts next week. Kid Rock, who is white, has been lauded for his philanthropy and support of Detroit, but his recent criticism of Kaepernick has prompted one civil rights organization in Detroit to plan a protest and call for the concerts to be canceled.

Kaepernick, who is black, refused to stand during the national anthem while with the San Francisco 49ers last year in protest of police violence and social injustice. During a concert last month in Iowa, Kid Rock told fans that “football’s about ready to start,” then went on to say, “You know what? (expletive) Colin Kaepernick,” the Des Moines Register reported.

Kid Rock, who is from the Detroit suburbs, has six concerts scheduled at the 20,000-seat arena, starting Tuesday — a move that Peter Hammer of the Center for Civil Rights at Wayne State University, called “incredibly tone deaf.”

“Everything is different post-Charlottesville,” Hammer said.

Kid Rock called the controversy surrounding his use of the Confederate flag a “fiasco.”

“I’ve never flown that flag with any hate in my heart. Not one ounce,” he said before announcing $50,000 in donations from his foundation to Detroit recreation centers.