“When we’re tired, we take a knee, and we’re as tired as we’ve ever been,” says former Steelers safety Ryan Clark on the state of Black America during this tumultuous year of social injustice.

Clark, speaking on behalf of Black athletes in a heartfelt video montage, sent the message via tweet Thursday morning ahead of the NFL’s season kickoff.

The message appeared to clear things up for those who aren’t understanding the point of Black athletes (and their allies) standing in solidarity for social justice. He references Colin Kaepernick’s kneeling during the national anthem.

“It wasn’t a protest against the (national) anthem, or a broken system. It was a stance against systemic and institutional racism that plagues this country,” Clark said.

He attacks the “shut up and dribble” crowd, who seem to think athletes don’t have the authority to speak on anything outside of athletics. There are clips of fans, all of whom are white, along with Fox News host Laura Ingraham — who made the original “shut up and dribble” quip toward NBA superstar LeBron James. They decidedly proclaim athletes’ voices should only be used in entertainment settings.

“Shouldn’t equality be bigger than football? Aren’t Black lives more important than sports?” Clark asks. “The truth is, what we we do inside of stadiums never protected who we are, nor who we represent outside of them.”

The fight for the Lombardi starts now, but the fight against racism never ends. Lend us your eyes, your ears, & hopefully you’ll give us your hearts, because all lives can’t matter until BLACK LIVES MATTER! Full vid: https://t.co/zhTkmQkWWS “DB Precision Official” YouTube pic.twitter.com/hCAjbawIxi

— Ryan Clark (@Realrclark25) September 10, 2020

The video also features videos of boxing icon Muhammad Ali and Olympic gold medalist Tommie Smith, who raised a fist during the national anthem in the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City.

“The generations before us fought to change the game. Now we fight to change society,” Clark says. “All in hopes that the next generation can change the world.

“We’re ready to play. We’ve worked through this pandemic while we protested, because this platform, this game, isn’t just for us. Games will be played for you to be entertained, but our voices will be heard for you to understand.”

The video then shows images of Black people who have been brutalized or killed under menacing circumstances at the hands of white men and police — Rodney King, Breonna Taylor, Trayvon Martin and George Floyd — along with WNBA stars kneeling in solidarity with Jacob Blake.

“To some, this may be uncomfortable — Not as uncomfortable as routine traffic stops (King), being young, Black and wearing a hoodie (Martin), or even as uncomfortable as sleeping in your own bed (Taylor).

“They’ll play Colin Kaepernick taking a knee with (No.) 7 on his back. Over and over again. Maybe if we all had listened to him then, we wouldn’t have to replay a knee taking the life of George Floyd or seven shots in the back of Jacob Blake.

“To be clear,” Clark summarized, “we believe that all lives matter. But all lives can’t matter until Black lives matter.”

You can watch the full video below:

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