In the fall of 2016, Colin Kaepernick sat for the national anthem during a preseason NFL game. The former Star Quarterback told the media after the game that the reason he sat was because he did not want to stand for a country that oppresses black and brown bodies.
We all know what followed shortly. Kaepernick was told to kneel by a veteran because it was more respectful. Multiple NFL players knelt, and some lost their jobs as a result. The media went into a frenzy.
Fast forward a few years and Mr. Kaepernick is still without a job. That does not mean much seeing how he is still a millionaire and has made millions while being an “activist”. The kneeling craze has gone through not only the NFL but also the NBA, NHL, NASCAR, and even soccer.
I do not find kneeling wrong or hateful. I support your right to do it. I also support your employer for firing you for doing it. I also support your right to stand if you choose to. Why? Because the line must not be drawn on whether you kneel for the flag or not.
Drew Brees is a perfect example of the craziness over the kneeling situation. Here is a man who has done more for his community (a community by that is 60% black) than the majority of Americans have done for theirs and he was called a racist because he was going to stand for the national anthem.
Gregg Popovich, one of America’s greatest coaches and staunch Black Lives Matter supporter, did not kneel for the anthem and had to answer to why he did not. Popovich has been the media darling when it comes to coaches calling out President Trump but suddenly, his sincerity is called into question because he stood for the national anthem.
Everywhere you see, it is becoming a circus on who knelt and who did not. No one cares what your reason for standing is; all they care about is whether you bent the knee.
The line on whether you care about police reform should not be drawn at kneeling. Kneeling is a nice gesture, but it pales in comparison to what needs to be done to fix a corrupt system. Nancy and the Democrats knelt. What have they pushed through for police reform? Nothing.
I care little for circus antics. I care about plans that will fix the problem. Kneel for the anthem, put your fist in the air; even scream Black Lives Matter if you want to but, if you don’t attempt to work within your community to fix the issues then you are no different than a circus act.
Douglass Times 