Sportscaster Bob Costas makes the argument why former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who he said did a "good thing," is not comparable to legendary tennis player Arthur Ashe. In an appearance on HBO's 'Real Time' on Friday, Costas also weighed in on the Kate Smith controversy and the impact of political correctness and identity politics.



Smith was a singer known for her rendition of 'God Bless America' that is often played at baseball games but has come under fire after it was discovered she recorded a song titled 'That's Why Darkies Were Born.' Smith died in 1986 at the age of 79.





"Colin Kaepernick called attention to a very important issue and paid for it. He did it with grace. The reason I wouldn't elevate him to the level of an Ali or an Arthur Ashe or Kareem [Abdul-Jabbar] who continues to be a public intellectual, a Curt Flood, as you mention, is because that every time he speaks which is rarely he says something that doesn't necessarily..."



"When he says, 'I don't vote because the oppressor will never allow you to vote your way out of your oppression,' I guess it doesn't matter to him when he first took a knee, Obama was president and when he was blackballed from the league, Trump was president," Costas said.



"He was not helpful in the election," host Bill Maher agreed.



"He did a good thing," Costas said. "But I think others can carry it forward more effectively."



Costas, speaking about political correctness and the Kate Smith controversy, warned those wagging the finger today may be the ones who are on the receiving end of it tomorrow if P.C. and identity politics continue to progress at "warp speed."



"I think she was doing what every person did back then," Maher said of Smith.



"I think that we make the mistake of assuming that our cultural moment represents some kind of endgame of sensitivity and awareness and the truth is those wagging the finger today if things keep going the way they are with extreme political correctness or extreme identity politics progressing at warp speed then those wagging the finger today may be on the other end of it tomorrow," Costas said.