By Colin Kaepernick has decided to sit during the national anthem of the San Francisco 49er’s preseason football games to peacefully protest the racial injustices minorities face from police officers in this country – so what’s the problem?
The 49ers quarterback is shedding light on the racial discrimination many black Americans are facing nationwide, especially from police officers.
“I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color,” Kaepernick said in an exclusive interview with NFL Media after the game. “To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.”
It’s disappointing to realize that even when Kaepernick is peacefully protesting, he is labeled “unpatriotic” by social media users and other NFL football players.
Kaepernick is not unpatriotic or disrespectful for his refusal to stand during the anthem. The athlete sees the many problems this country faces, and keeps a progressive mindset about them. It’s this same mindset which helps enable him to use one of the rights given to him by the constitution, in order to make this nation a better, less racist one.
Kaepernick has successfully accomplished getting media coverage on a systemic issue which doesn’t seem to be getting any attention from lawmakers — police brutality towards people of color.
In 2016 alone, there have been 381 police shootings of black people, according to a Washington Post real-time database tracking fatal police shootings.
Why were so many people fatally shot when there was no visible threat? It seems like police officers are too quick to fire their weapon with no significant cause.
The 49ers quarterback has inspired other football players to join him in peaceful protest, such as his teammate Eric Reed and Jeremy Lane of the Seattle Seahawks. Support from other football players only strengthen his motives.
Kaepernick isn’t the first athlete to refuse to stand during the anthem. Jackie Robinson was amongst the first professional athletes to protest against racial inequality in the country. He stated in his 1972 autobiography, “I Never Had It Made” that “I can not stand and sing the National Anthem, I can not salute the flag. I know I am a black man in a white world in 1972 and 1947.”
Moreover, in 1996, NBA player Mahmound Abdul-Rauf was kicked out of the league for staying inside the locker room during the national anthem.
The years have gone by and professional athletes, like Kaepernick, are still aiming to draw attention towards themselves in an attempt to start conversations on racial injustices in the country.
The San Francisco 49ers issued a statement about Kaepernick’s decision:
“The national anthem is and always will be a special part of the pre-game ceremony. It is an opportunity to honor our country and reflect on the great liberties we are afforded as its citizens. In respecting such American principles as freedom of religion and freedom of expression, we recognize the right of an individual to choose and participate, or not, in our celebration of the national anthem.”
The NFL also stated that players are encouraged, but not required, to stand for the national anthem.
According to the First Amendment in the Bill of Rights – which protects the freedoms of speech, expression and peaceful protest – what Kaepernick is doing is completely OK.
Even if the right to peaceful protest wasn’t in the Bill of Rights, I’d still be on his side.
Kaepernick has not only received backlash from other football players and social media users but also from the National Association of Police Organizations.
Kaepernick decided to wear socks with imagery of pigs wearing police hats during the one of the team’s practices. The player has been wearing the socks since the beginning of August, however only after he began protesting were they considered “disrespectful” by the NAPO officers.
Bill Johnson, the executive director of NAPO, shared his disgust with the NFL for allowing Kaepernick to wear the socks after the Dallas Cowboys were kept back from wearing a tribute decal on their helmets to honor the police officers killed in their city in July.
“It is just ridiculous that the same league that prohibits the Dallas Cowboys football club from honoring the slain officers with their uniforms stands silent when Kaepernick is dishonoring police officers with what he’s wearing on the field,” Johnson said.
As long as police brutality is still a persistent issue in our country, Kaepernick has all the right to wear his police-hat-pig socks.
“I wore these socks, in the past, because the rogue cops that are allowed to hold positions in police departments, not only put the community in danger, but also put the cops that have the right intentions in danger by creating an environment of tension and mistrust,” said Kaepernick in a comment on Instagram.
Kaepernick is using his media exposure to advocate for human rights and equality. Thanks to national television coverage, he has a platform to influence millions of viewers.
When all the world’s a stage, and you have the power as a professional athlete to influence people to do the right thing, how could you not want to encourage the dismantling of oppressive institutions?
As it is written in the Constitution, whether it is the 2nd amendment for the RTKBA or the 1st amendment’s free speech, he has a right to speak his mind. Agree or not. I do feel, and I see evidence daily, he and many of the millennial generation, lack the ability to process or accept anything but their own point of view. A sad time for America. Hopefully the generation that follows will regain the understanding of what it is to truly be an American.