I admire Colin Kaepernick’s dignified silent protest. It is very courageous and I applaud his actions.
The ensuing controversy evoked memories of John Carlos and Tommie Smith at the Olympics in 1968. Similar to the criticism that erupted against Kaepernick’s protest, Carlos and Smith were vilified at the time. Many people castigated them when all they did was firmly express their principles, state an undeniable universal truth, and protest the overt racism of American society. In retrospect, they were heroic.
Critics said that “no one should inject politics into sport” in 1968. They say the same now. Yet many of the same people rightfully cheered the USA hockey team’s defeat of the Soviet Union in the 1980 Olympics, or the Hungarians’ defeat of the Soviets in water polo in the 1956 Olympics as “political statements” in “protest” of the Soviet’s violence directed at other peoples. The double standard exists even when it comes to protest in sports.
It eludes logic and common sense for the mostly white sportswriters, coaches and athletes to incongruously attack Kaepernick’s brave stand by essentially claiming that he is somehow disqualified from protesting due to his proven ability to compel a good paycheck for his labors. They conflate two unrelated issues. On one hand, Kaepernick was savvy enough to extract market based wages from the overwhelmingly white ownership that lucratively benefits from his services and those of his teammates. On the other hand, Kaepernick is rightfully exercising his First Amendment rights as an American citizen. Either way, Colin Kaepernick can only be accused of being smart and aware.
Regardless of the paycheck size, Kaepernick and other players know full well that, despite the status, fame and income that comes with a professional athletic career, they remain potential targets of unjustifiable police violence and so do their families, friends, teammates, childhood acquaintances and others in minority communities. Kudos to Kaepernick and other players for being engaged in the real world and caring about what happens in our society. Good for them that they care enough to speak out against injustice and in favor of young lives.
They aren’t willing to stay mute about the issues, injustices and shames swirling around them in our perilous times. They are inarguably good American citizens who want our practices to live up to our principles. More people, famous and anonymous alike, need to speak up against injustice and for the aggrieved.
Finally, I’ve never understood how the NFL could “wrap itself up in the flag” as if it has a priority claim to patriotism. Rather, the history of the NFL’s abusive treatment of its labor force— disproportionately composed of players from minority communities— and its evasion of responsibility for the occupational injuries, illnesses, diseases, disabilities and untimely deaths suffered by its employees is anything but patriotic.
Aside from Kaepernick’s unassuming quiet protest, if there is anyone who should engage in raucous protest at an NFL event, it should be the poor taxpayers for the injustices of publicly financed new stadiums that merely subsidize the huge profits of already wealthy team owners and the practice of flying a formation of fighter jets over a stadium! Imagine the cost of running five of those things for a few hours just to appear for three seconds over a stadium and deafen the crowd! Who’s paying for all that stuff?
