Colin Kaepernick is being put through the wringer this week over the national anthem and flag controversy. He refused to stand up during the anthem in protest over the racial and social injustices happening in the great nation of ours. Every time some athlete refuses to salute the flag or refuses to stand for the anthem, he or she is asking for a lot of criticism and attention and Kaep should have expected this. He sounds like he is comfortable about making this statement and seems prepared to face the wrath of the general public. I commend him for his courage and for standing up for what he believes in. It's not easy to be the rebellious outsider and he is being one here despite his on-field and injury troubles. In general, most people, even his critics, seem to agree that this country bestows on him the right and freedom to protest in peaceful ways and they don't have a problem with that. I am on that boat as well. I am glad he is doing what he feels is right and I will never be the one to argue to take that right away from him. However, many people don't agree with his opinion and his approach here. Disrespecting the flag or the anthem is an emotional issue for most people and they are going to spew a lot of venom towards him.
A topic like this also becomes a political topic, especially in an election year, and is not confined to just sports talk shows. In any country, flag, anthem, nationhood, and military are all related concepts, but it's an even direct straight line from the anthem to the military in America. This is probably due to the fact that the country is pretty much in one war or the other at all times. So a lot of people look at any perceived slight to the anthem as disrespecting the military. In reality, the flag and the anthem stands for nationhood and is all encompassing. It is actually even bigger than the military, but many people see the military and veterans when they see the flag or hear the anthem. While insulting the concept of America and our nationhood is far more controversial in spirit, it goes after some abstract concepts and people are not that offended. But any criticism of the military is personal and directly offensive to many Americans. Military is too real and close to heart for people as they may have sons or daughters or cousins or neighbors serving right now. Or they may have lost their granddad or uncle to wars of the past. What Kaep is questioning here is certain fundamental concepts of our nationhood and how our culture works today. I don't think he is anti-military, but thats the perception he has to fight and the angle he has to explain whether he wants it or not.
Nothing changes without protests and major social ills are not easily reformed without disruptive and controversial movements. Aside from Kaep having the right to do this, I do relate to the issue and his cause as well. So, it's hard for me to criticize Kaep at a moral, ethical, or political level. But I am still going to criticize him for sports reasons. As sports fans, we all know his career has been in a downward spiral and is just returning from an injury which seems to have physically weakened him quite a bit. He does not need this distraction right now and the last thing he needs is for the league or teams to blackball him. It's also a huge distraction for his teammates at the start of a season which is probably going to be rough on them anyways. I always ask myself and others "is the juice worth the squeeze" when certain decisions has to be made. Basically you need to do a cost-benefit analysis at every turn in life. The juice is definitely not worth the squeeze for Kaep. He thinks he has a platform and is using it for the grater good of the society. He is, but his platform is not as big as he thinks it is. America loves winners and stars and he is neither right now. NFL will have no problem casting him side in a heartbeat. The platform is a lot bigger for Cam Newton or Tom Brady, not for Colin Kaepernick right now. Thats the sad truth.
At the end of the day, the flag is purely symbolic. Respecting or disrespecting the flag has very little effect on real life. He is going through all these pains for making a largely symbolic gesture while also risking his future. Instead, he would be better off continuing to tweet about it, join the "Black Lives Matter" movement, go on marches, or donate money to the cause. All those actions are a lot more impactful and much less controversial. It will have zero impact on his teammates or his future and achieve better results for the cause. You may ask if I am asking him to compromise his values or his beliefs for some peace or a better career or more money. Isn't that spineless? Yes and no. Life is all about compromises. One of the reasons we like sports is that you either win or lose at the end of every game. There is a finality and clarity to it that our everyday lives rarely offer. Real life, unlike sports, is not binary and doesn't happen in black and white. It usually happens exclusively in the grey area. So compromises and finding an amicable way forward is often the most effective approach in life. I am all for disruptive movements, but 2016 Kaep with these niners is neither the right person, time, nor the place for this. If I were him, I would have found other ways to contribute to the movement in question. Thats just me and of course Kaep is his own man.
Kaep chose to do what he believes is the right thing to do. I am OK with it, but I am afraid the country may not be. The supposedly liberal Bay Area will criticize him, but may not be that rough on him. His situation on the road will be much worse. Then again, he may not be in the team long enough to even get on the field either at home or away. He did not look good on the field last week and there are rumors that the niners might cut him. That can be another tricky situation for coach Chip Kelly because any action against Kaep will now be perceived as a reaction to this controversy even if the team just makes a purely football decision. Thats not good for Kelly who came in with some racial accusations leveled against him and did not cut Riley Cooper in Philadelphia after Cooper was caught using the N word. Now, a Kaepernick punishment will be compared to that and might even cause some resentment in the locker room. The other interesting aspect here is how racially divided the support or opposition for Kaep has been among his peers. Breaking news folks - race matters in America! Almost to the exclusion of everything else. Going after the flag or the anthem is always a ultra touchy subject and we may not have heard the last of this controversy. I will bottom line this as follows. I like athletes making socio-political statements. I support Kaep's right to protest peacefully and I even support this particular cause. But his particular method of protest is not smart and might end up distracting his team and hurting his own future. Also, the reaction he is facing is to be expected. I wish him good luck and he is going to need every bit of it.
A topic like this also becomes a political topic, especially in an election year, and is not confined to just sports talk shows. In any country, flag, anthem, nationhood, and military are all related concepts, but it's an even direct straight line from the anthem to the military in America. This is probably due to the fact that the country is pretty much in one war or the other at all times. So a lot of people look at any perceived slight to the anthem as disrespecting the military. In reality, the flag and the anthem stands for nationhood and is all encompassing. It is actually even bigger than the military, but many people see the military and veterans when they see the flag or hear the anthem. While insulting the concept of America and our nationhood is far more controversial in spirit, it goes after some abstract concepts and people are not that offended. But any criticism of the military is personal and directly offensive to many Americans. Military is too real and close to heart for people as they may have sons or daughters or cousins or neighbors serving right now. Or they may have lost their granddad or uncle to wars of the past. What Kaep is questioning here is certain fundamental concepts of our nationhood and how our culture works today. I don't think he is anti-military, but thats the perception he has to fight and the angle he has to explain whether he wants it or not.
Nothing changes without protests and major social ills are not easily reformed without disruptive and controversial movements. Aside from Kaep having the right to do this, I do relate to the issue and his cause as well. So, it's hard for me to criticize Kaep at a moral, ethical, or political level. But I am still going to criticize him for sports reasons. As sports fans, we all know his career has been in a downward spiral and is just returning from an injury which seems to have physically weakened him quite a bit. He does not need this distraction right now and the last thing he needs is for the league or teams to blackball him. It's also a huge distraction for his teammates at the start of a season which is probably going to be rough on them anyways. I always ask myself and others "is the juice worth the squeeze" when certain decisions has to be made. Basically you need to do a cost-benefit analysis at every turn in life. The juice is definitely not worth the squeeze for Kaep. He thinks he has a platform and is using it for the grater good of the society. He is, but his platform is not as big as he thinks it is. America loves winners and stars and he is neither right now. NFL will have no problem casting him side in a heartbeat. The platform is a lot bigger for Cam Newton or Tom Brady, not for Colin Kaepernick right now. Thats the sad truth.
At the end of the day, the flag is purely symbolic. Respecting or disrespecting the flag has very little effect on real life. He is going through all these pains for making a largely symbolic gesture while also risking his future. Instead, he would be better off continuing to tweet about it, join the "Black Lives Matter" movement, go on marches, or donate money to the cause. All those actions are a lot more impactful and much less controversial. It will have zero impact on his teammates or his future and achieve better results for the cause. You may ask if I am asking him to compromise his values or his beliefs for some peace or a better career or more money. Isn't that spineless? Yes and no. Life is all about compromises. One of the reasons we like sports is that you either win or lose at the end of every game. There is a finality and clarity to it that our everyday lives rarely offer. Real life, unlike sports, is not binary and doesn't happen in black and white. It usually happens exclusively in the grey area. So compromises and finding an amicable way forward is often the most effective approach in life. I am all for disruptive movements, but 2016 Kaep with these niners is neither the right person, time, nor the place for this. If I were him, I would have found other ways to contribute to the movement in question. Thats just me and of course Kaep is his own man.
Kaep chose to do what he believes is the right thing to do. I am OK with it, but I am afraid the country may not be. The supposedly liberal Bay Area will criticize him, but may not be that rough on him. His situation on the road will be much worse. Then again, he may not be in the team long enough to even get on the field either at home or away. He did not look good on the field last week and there are rumors that the niners might cut him. That can be another tricky situation for coach Chip Kelly because any action against Kaep will now be perceived as a reaction to this controversy even if the team just makes a purely football decision. Thats not good for Kelly who came in with some racial accusations leveled against him and did not cut Riley Cooper in Philadelphia after Cooper was caught using the N word. Now, a Kaepernick punishment will be compared to that and might even cause some resentment in the locker room. The other interesting aspect here is how racially divided the support or opposition for Kaep has been among his peers. Breaking news folks - race matters in America! Almost to the exclusion of everything else. Going after the flag or the anthem is always a ultra touchy subject and we may not have heard the last of this controversy. I will bottom line this as follows. I like athletes making socio-political statements. I support Kaep's right to protest peacefully and I even support this particular cause. But his particular method of protest is not smart and might end up distracting his team and hurting his own future. Also, the reaction he is facing is to be expected. I wish him good luck and he is going to need every bit of it.
2 comments:
Well said! I totally agree (with you and with Kaep).
I'm just waiting to see what happens next:
1) Who else will join him? How big will this movement grow?
2) How long will he keep doing this (kneeling during the anthem)? If he's waiting for the racism problem in America to go away he could be doing this his entire career! (funny and not funny at the same time)
3) How will it impact his play on the field? He had a (reasonably) good preseason. Will he improve enough during the season to regain his starting job? I hope so. Expectations for the Niners are low so the pressure on him *should* be low as well. With the Seahawks, Cardinals and (LA) Rams in their division, nobody expects SF to make the playoffs this year. Hopefully that means Kaep can progress at his own pace and eventually regain his 2013 form (and confidence).
Thats a good point about how long he does it. He could stop with this year. Or do it his entire career too. It won't be news after a while, but it's not inconceivable to imagine him doing it rest of his career.
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