I am not a sports fan and honestly, the most I knew of Colin Kaepernick is that he was a tatted, good looking, red bone brother who played football. But there is a lot more to this San Francisco 49ers quarterback as he finds himself in the middle of a major controversy after making the decision to not stand during the playing of the national anthem.
Man what is up with you? You know folks could care less about black folks speaking their mind or showing they have intelligent thought, just throw the ball.
Kaepernick shared his views with the NFL Network on why he chose not to stand: “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.”
Hey forget about the balls Kaepernick throws, this brother has a set the size of boulders to stand up to the NFL and its sometimes fickle fans, some of which have already taken offense to Kaepernick’s decision and started burning his jersey in protest. Am I the only one that see’s the eerily semblance to historical lynchings?
What is the deal with these watchdogs of patriotism? Who gets decide who is a patriot and what is an appropriate way to showcase your patriotism? Is not Kaepernick’s decision to protest the very cornerstone of what we stand for in this country?
Kaepernick’s sitting down or speaking out is just part of a new culture of black entertainers that are utilizing their platforms to speak out on injustices that plague their community. I have written about this new crop who are unapologetically black like Kendrick Lamar and Beyonce. This detour from using their platform to entertain the mainstream to speaking out against injustice just drives folks crazy. See the mainstream is OK with black athletes and entertainers as long as you are singing, dancing and hustling on the field or court for their amusement but God forbid you use those talents or platform to speak up and out against injustice.
And do not get me started on the double standard of when white entertainers or athletes allowed to exercise their first amendment rights but when a minority or woman chooses to do so then all hell breaks out.
We forget that in this country, many great folks that we now celebrate were vilified for similar stances, like Malcolm X and Muhammad Ali, who refused to go to war. And even Martin Luther King was demonized from some of his own community for his tactics and views on equality.
Now, I am not saying that Kaepernick is the next Martin Luther King Jr., but I have to give him credit for speaking up and out. I just hope his decision does not get in the way of what most folks are really concerned about and that is just throwing that ball.