Colin Kaepernick continues to spur controversy. It used to be over whether you liked the San Francisco 49ers and their success with the young Quarterback and his skills on the field. But these days due to the collusion of NFL teams who have blackballed the QB it is purely for the just off-field (sideline) protests that he started when he was still in the league.
Kaepernick started a movement to kneel during the playing of the National Anthem in protest of the way that people of color are treated by police and other authorities in the United States. He had enough of seeing unarmed black men gunned down in the streets of America by police officers and decided to take a knee in protest. Many other athletes have joined in on the protests and it has become a huge controversy with the NFL as many people claim that it is disrespectful of the flag and of service members in the military. While the President of the United States has stoked the controversy by calling Kaepernick and the players a ”son of a bi#@%” and claiming that they do not even know what they are protesting, the players have been crystal clear in their responses and explain clearly that the issue is not patriotism but racism.
Nike today named Kaepernick one of the faces of their 30th anniversary of the “Just Do It” Campaign with the tagline " Believe in Something, even if it means sacrificing everything. # Justdoit." In typical fashion, many on social media are threatening to throw away their Nike shoes and denouncing both the brand and Kaepernick, once again sowing the discord plaguing our nation. Kaepernick is following the decades-old tradition of African American athletes fighting racist discrimination which had its notable beginnings at the 1968 Mexico City Olympic Games when Tommy Smith and John Carlos stood on the gold medal platform and upheld their black-gloved hands to the heavens during the playing of the U.S. national anthem.
This act infuriated officials who took away the Olympic athlete’s gold medals but, was a pivotal moment in the civil rights movement. Kaepernick’s gesture to kneel is a continuation of this protest and is interestingly seen as disrespectful. I say interestingly because kneeling is one of the humblest acts one could do in our culture. To kneel is to submit. The only thing which is more of a humble posture is to lay prostrate on the ground. For those who participate in religious services kneeling is a familiar position to take before one’s God. In monarchies kneeling was and can still be a standard position when coming before those in authority, the King or Queen. It is also a position often used when asking for the mercy or assistance of an authority. Men traditionally kneel before a woman when asking her to be his wife. It is a position of giving honor to another. So, I am dumbfounded when people are insulted at the act and claim that it is dishonoring to the flag and troops.
Even though people mix up the actions of these athletes stand against racism with some perceived protest of the flag and military, if one still wants to hold to this mistaken interpretation then they even have that wrong. What these athletes are doing is showing honor to the flag and all who serve it by kneeling, an act of humility. What I see in this act is an unspoken request to those in power to help. A request for those of us seeing this protest to act against the racism that these athletes and their friends and family face every day. And those of us who are against racism should be responding not by criticizing them but by standing up to the racism we see exhibited whether it be by our leaders or the person next to you in line at the grocery store. There is no room for this disease in American culture. When we switch the subject on the discussion we are ignoring the pleas of our brothers and sisters who are Americans with a different skin pigment and are kneeling to ask us for help.
I am asking you to see this through a different lens. As a humble request with all honor given to those of us who can make a difference. Racism is a serious problem, one that has found solutions at times in the world of sport. So maybe instead of denouncing Nike, we acknowledge that they are doing what they can to address the issue. And maybe when we see someone kneel we see someone who is asking us earnestly and humbly for our help. Wouldn’t it be a powerful thing to see people in the stands humbly kneel in unison against racism instead of standing in judgment of those suffering from it?
Jim Nendel
Jim Nendel
