In 2016, quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers Colin Kaepernick thought that by sitting on the bench or taking a knee during the National Anthem for a whole season, it would be a way of standing up against the hatred that is culminating throughout the United States. However, by refusing to stand with his teammates and coach, he was doing more harm than good.
Though the NFL claims that players are encouraged but not required to stand for the national anthem, the issue isn’t about what he is continuing to advocate for, it’s about how he approached it.
First and foremost, it’s certainly understandable why he would be frustrated about the mistreatment of black people and police brutality as many Americans still are.
Kaepernick’s protest against racial inequality started before the third pre-season game against the Green Bay Packers when he first decided to sit on the bench. In a post game interview, he stated to the press, “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color. 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 also a plus that he is able to use his platform to voice his opinion and take a stance so that others can create a dialogue. But after looking back on the season, he could have used his platform in a more positive light and could have protested in a more orthodox way that wouldn’t have caused the divide to split even more in our nation and would have brought the negative attention to the issues at hand rather than himself. His statement during the interview was also a sweeping statement because not everyone in America oppresses black people and he was inferring that the country as a whole is in the wrong.
Despite this, NBA Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar supported his efforts and stated that his act actually was showing patriotism by saying back in August on CNN, “He is doing just what Thomas Jefferson said should be done to speak out. Jefferson said that it was important to protect the speech of people that you don’t agree with, not the ones you do agree with. Freedom of speech is what helps make our country the greatest place on earth.” This is just one side of the argument.
In the grand scheme of things, knowing the symbolism of national anthem is crucial, and this is something that Kaepernick missed.
The National Anthem was first played at the beginning of every baseball game during the time of World War II and has been playing at other sporting events since. Ultimately, this anthem and the flag represents more than just some of the chaos and political divide in our country. It symbolizes the process that we as Americans went through in order to make our country free and to be able to live with life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
What’s ironic is that Kaepernick also mentioned in his first press conference interview about this controversy that another reason for his protest was because of how he believes soldiers are being mistreated when they come back from war and yet, he didn’t realize this whole time that he was disrespecting them himself by not standing along with his fellow teammates and Americans. Sitting is disrespectful toward the men and women who fight for our country everyday to protect us from our enemies and risk their lives for us.
Even the Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg did not support his decision. Ginsburg said in an interview with Katie Couric, “If they want to be stupid, there’s no law that should be preventive. If they want to be arrogant, there’s no law that prevents them from that. What I would do is strongly take issue with the point of view that they are expressing when they do that.”
He is not obligated to sing the National Anthem, but by his refusal to stand, he forgot that the anthem and the flag is not about one’s own agenda, it’s about the American citizens’ teamwork over the years and the positive things that have been accomplished as a country. While the U.S. is not in perfect condition, when will it ever really be? There will always be certain problems in the world. However, this moment before a game is not his moment to stir a raucous because positive change won’t happen if there aren't positive actions taking place.
For example, something positive that Kaepernick did achieve was following through with his promise to donate $100,000 a month to charities who support racial inequality efforts and in fact, the 49ers offered to match his donations at one million. Nevertheless, wearing a shirt and socks that depict police officers as pigs during practices did not make the situation any better and it turned his protest into a negative campaign.
After talking with NFL snapper for the Seattle Seahawks Nate Boyer, a former Army Green Beret who served in Afghanistan and Iraq, he changed from sitting to taking a knee. Of course, this obviously still caused an uproar in the military world. But as emphasized before, Kaepernick was still able to do this because of his first amendment rights and freedom of speech. He even caused other NFL players and other professional athletes such as Megan Rapinoe from the U.S. women’s national soccer team to take a knee or raise fists during the playing of the anthem.
Lastly, here is the kicker. Believe it or not, according to MilitaryTimes, Kaepernick has decided to stand in the next season and stop his protest. ESPN’s Adam Scheffer stated, “Kaepernick will stand to avoid detracting from progress he believes has been made an the awareness brought to the issue of social inequality.”
So after this whole experience, even Kaepernick realized that it is time to stand again.
