I'm not writing a parody right now, I'm being quite serious. Celebrities, commentators, coaches, team owners, and even the NFL itself can't help themselves from weighing in on the issue and making demands as to what is acceptable behavior by the players on the various teams, and it's all really stupid. This is not a difficult issue at all, but so many people have made it into a do or die issue that will make or break the world.
In 2016, second string Quarterback Colin Kaepernick made waves throughout the media because he took a knee and refused to stand while the National Anthem was played before his games. Kaepernick was no stranger even then to controversy on the field. During his first few seasons, Colin was very much on fire as far as statistics were concerned. The 49ers Quarterback set record after record very quickly during his first few seasons, even spending his first two NFL seasons undefeated against the Green Bay Packers (a statistic he yelled very loudly to anyone who would listen). Colin quickly gained infamy for excessive celebration at every chance he could celebrate. He coined the term "Kaepernicking", a classless and derogatory dance that he would do after every good play.
Colin's luck would eventually run out, as is with most people. After a couple seasons like this, Kaepernick's statistics started to decline quickly. After a crushing defeat by the Cardinals in 2015, the biggest story on ESPN was that the game against the Packers would be just what the young Quarterback needed. History shows us that the victory didn't come, and was a continuation on a severe slide in Colin's performance. By the end of 2015, his total quarterback rating had fallen below 50, and he was quickly falling out of favor with sports writers, fans and his coaches.
While I'm fuzzy on the details, I've read the reports that it was at about this point in history that Colin converted to Islam, possibly at the behest of his girlfriend. I know that he grew his hair, and a beard. But what I do know is that during his last season as an NFL Quarterback, he began sitting/kneeling for the National Anthem, citing a protest of the racism of the collective police force against black men. It didn't take long for a fire to grow under the other black players in the league across the country, and now we sit with a growing civil disturbance festering under our feet.
Look anywhere on social media, and you'll surely find a post telling the black people of the NFL to take a knee in the name of solidarity or in the name of racism or just to protest the United States of America, and generally the following post is some middle American telling the players that they can't or shouldn't kneel for the National Anthem. Next you'll find some post from someone telling you that if you don't support Kaepernick getting hired, you're a racist. Immediately following that will be a post saying that Kaepernick's civil unrest should get him black balled from sports. I'm here to honestly tell you....you're all wrong, at least in one way or another.
To the players who need to hide in the locker room, kneel, or anything else to protest the United States because all black people are oppressed by the American Racism: Get over yourselves. First off, if you're in the NFL, you're not oppressed. You may have experienced some form of racism early in your lives, and there may be some horrific comments made by some flyover state rednecks. But let's be honest about a few facts. Most of you out there have a multi-million dollar contract, and for every one of those contracts, there is another team waiting out there to give you another contract should you not see eye to eye with your current team. The magic of these contracts is that you make upper 1% level money, but no one in the mainstream expects you to give it all away, as they expect with a CEO or another top earner. It's socially acceptable for you to be able to keep all your money in spite of the fact that you don't directly employ anyone. And yet, you kneel to protest the treatment of blacks across the country. There is some honor in this, as you are making a statement from the platform that you're given. However, I don't agree with this being the best way to help your community. The big argument to celebrities is that if they speak out in bringing refugees, that they should give out rooms in their homes or pay for refugee shelter themselves. I'm not 100% on board with this, but it presents an idea of what you, as multi-millionaires can do for the people that you kneel for. Buying, restoring, and renting low income housing; donating food; and small business grants to help employ people in affected areas will help millions more people than taking a knee against a free enterprise country that gave you the tools to make millions. Scholarships will help many more young blacks to go to college instead of going to the streets, and give some more of them opportunities to get noticed by the NFL and other sports, and have the opportunity to make millions themselves.
To the people who say that the players of the NFL shouldn't kneel for the National Anthem: just stop talking. To those who say they should be fired or arrested for doing so: delete your social media accounts. Now, I defend your right to speak freely, so I can't actually force you to disable your social media or stop you from talking. But my statement is in defense of the players to peacefully make a protest that is protected the same way your freedom to protest their protest. Unless this branch of the movement turns to violence, just let them express themselves. You don't have to like it, but there is no law requiring anyone to stand for the flag, pledge allegiance to it, or respect the National Anthem. We are not Soviets, Nazis, or North Koreans in this country. It's also your right to not participate in their careers, and that is a path that more and more Americans are taking, rather than making idle threats and accusations against the players. I do offer the same opinion to coaches and team owners. You can't penalize your players for exercising an American Right. This is the land of the free, and the people that our great flag honors fought hard for these players to have that right. The best thing as Americans that honor the flag can do is let the protesting players come back to us on their own. Anything else would be dictatorial and fascist.
To the general public who wants to throw the racist card around because no one is hiring Colin Kaepernick: I challenge you to look at the stats, along with the current situation in the NFL. Currently, dozens of players across the country sit out from the National Anthem, and their jobs are perfectly intact. Kaepernick had a couple of really good, really lucky seasons, but the numbers speak for themselves as far as he's concerned. Colin was a lighting strike, and he doesn't have the numbers to make a starter salary a worthwhile investment to the business owners involved. If Number 7 was putting up the the numbers like he did in 2012, it wouldn't matter to any team owner what his beliefs were. Star players and big plays bring in crowds, and crowds bring money to team owners, vendors, and sponsors.
Finally, to those who think that all these players, Kaepernick included, are ungrateful and should be blackballed: Just stop. Colin Kaepernick has the right to free speech, free practice of religion, and has the right to assemble his like minded brethren peacefully as he sees fit. If he gets his spark back and can make consistent numbers again, there are enough fans that want to see him playing again that if the 49ers can't find the means to hire him, another team will come up with the money. Plain and simple. If he can't get his numbers and consistency back, he'll have to accept another lifestyle, and that's just how it is.
One final thought that I had while remembering the way things used to be before the protests began. I remember seeing the players standing during the anthem, helmets off hands over their hearts. I remember being so inspired by the black players during the anthem. Try and find some old footage of the Anthem being played. You could almost see a tear in the eyes of the black players as they gripped their shoulder pads. I've never had an opportunity to interview these players, but I'd die to know what they were thinking as those familiar bars played. It's so unnerving to see people who were seemed so inspired by our nation's anthem feel such a need to protest it now.
We all need to step back and look at our country and our lives. One small exercise of the First Amendment has become another thing that has polarized us not even two decades after we all stood united under the flag as a nation against a terrorist attack on US soil. I don't know about any of you, dear readers, but I don't want unity to come at the cost of so many lives again.
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