In 2016, Kaepernick gained nationwide attention when he began protesting by not standing while the United States national anthem was being played before the start of games. This decision was motivated by what he viewed as the oppression of people of color in the United States. His actions prompted a wide variety of responses, including additional athletes in the NFL and other American sports leagues protesting in various ways during the anthem. Kaepernick's current free agency status has also been the subject of discussion and controversy (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colin_Kaepernick).
It takes a great deal of courage for a person to decide to take a position on an important matter knowing full well that they will be criticized, misunderstood, and possibly even rejected by past friends and others alike. Nevertheless, it is and has always been an important part of learning to be "true to oneself and to others" for any young man or woman regardless of the platform on which they may some day find themself standing.
If you do not have the stomach to do what it takes to "speak truth in love" about any overlooked injustice then you are probably better off moving out of the way and letting another person take the lead who can act of his or her own choosing in a free way without worrying about normal social rules. I believe this to be at the core of what Colin Kaepernick did in taking a knee. He's a young man continuing to question his ideals, as a constantly adapting person, willing to take personal responsibility for his process of values integration, and seeking to operate in a way that will hopefully also benefit others. Throughout history this has been the substance of the moral character that has distinguished American society and its contributions to the notion of justice, liberty, and freedom from that of other less democratic and emergent societies.
Sometimes it takes an actor, a comedian, a basketball player, a boxer, a musician, a singer or even another football player to disturbingly wake us up to the unfairness of things occurring outside of the more familiar sports arena. The real tragedy though lies in any rush to judgment or our mistakenly coming to hate the messenger more than the harsh realities of their message.
Colin is not the first celebrity to humbly, nonviolently, and yet radically appeal to our greater common good in the hope that it might evoke more serious attention to a gross inhumanity nor is he likely to be the very last.
Clearly accomplished as a young professional athlete it would have been far easier for Colin to confine himself to the standard role of that of a sports figure in our society whose voice we assume is only meant for selling merchandise. Albeit a valuable piece to any NFL team and a widely appealing player to fans. As a human being, it is possible that at times he may have felt like little more than another dispensable pawn piece in a chess game. However, like a number of other elite athletes before him, he reached the self-realization that being only one thing doesn't make a man. What actually does more to enduringly "make the man or woman" is what he or she is willing to become as a person through their heightened attention to unmet needs and collaborative service unto others.
For the life of me though, what I find very difficult to understand is how the American public can so easily overlook a multitude of sinful behavior by our 71 year old sitting President of the United States of America while on the other hand being enormously unwilling to forgive a trouble free 28 year old for attempting to "man up" and find a way to protest and thereby draw the nation's attention to the longstanding and insufficient accountability that prevails when it comes to minority mass incarceration, police brutality, stop and frisk practices, and the well-established unequal sentencing.
It's altogether baffling and frankly downright shameful. For a time at least, we should all allow ourselves to feel as deficiently motivated and morally responsible as Colin Kaepernick does for what often does not but should happen when it comes to advocating for the fair treatment and uplifting of people who are less fortunate than we are.
I have no right to life's abundance until everyone has received life's necessities. - Ralph S. Cusham
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