In 1972, the legendary black baseball player Jackie Robinson wrote in his biography, “I can not stand and sing the anthem”.
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Kaepernick has struggled on the field but we are pretty certain that by not standing for the National Anthem in protest of police officers getting away with murder, among his other complaints, he has had some struggles off the field as well. Speaking to Houston’s SportsTalk 790, Harrison said that since Kaepernick is “not black”, he can’t be expected to understand what he faces as a black man, and what black people and people of color face in their daily lives. He was suspended by the National Basketball Association for breaking a rule that required players to “stand and line up in a dignified posture” during the USA and Canadian anthems. The post was removed soon after. Presumptive starting quarterback Blaine Gabbert “will not play”, as he received “43 snaps in the preseason”. By remaining seated during the playing of the national anthem, his dissidence is forcing necessary conversations about racism and police violence in a nation still struggling to embrace equality for communities of color.
While I do not agree with all of the points made in O’Connor’s article, he does bring up some interesting points on this issue so I will attach his article below. Police killing unarmed black people is completely out of bounds.
This whole issue got under my skin a little bit, not because of what he was standing, or rather sitting, for but how he chose to stand for it.
Because protesting is the most American thing you can do.
I find the football side of the caper more interesting than the political side.
“If you want to make a point or take a stand, go straight after the root of that cause”, wrote Ward. Some, like NBC sports analyst Rodney Harrison, have even gone so far as to question Kaepernick’s race, saying “he’s not black” (a statement Harrison has since apologized for). It is undoubtedly more selfish to disregard the progress being made while disrespecting our military by sitting, than trying to use his increasingly irrelevant fame in the National Football League to raise awareness for an issue that requires solidarity as a people. He could have volunteered or donated some of his 11.9 million dollar base salary towards a charity to help those oppressed.
I have often heard argument made by Jewish people that the United States has to be respected and revered at all costs – that because we arguably have had it better here than anywhere else in the world, that because the constitution protected to continues to protect our right to exist and to practice as Jews, we owe a massive debt of gratitude that should win the United States unerring loyalty on our part.
Kaepernick has also attracted some unreserved support.
I looked up the definition of patriot just to be sure.
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The Justice 4 Mario Woods Coalition organized the “Stand With Kaepernick” rally at 11 a.m.in front of the police union at 800 Bryant Street. I applaud Kaeepernick for taking what he knew would be an unpopular action to promote what he believes is injustice. I applaud him. He has not offended my patriotism for sitting out the singing of our song. Now changing the anthem itself, as I’d like, might be an even tougher thing for America to accept. Oppression is a real and very upsetting issue that needs to be addressed but this is not how to address it.
