Colin Kaepernick, the moderately talented former quarterback for the San Francisco Forty-Niners, saw his career disintegrate when he chose to make a political statement before each game by kneeling on the ground or sitting down during the national anthem.
Kaepernick made his intent public. "I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color," he said. America took notice.
The Forty-Niners owner and the NFL decided to stay silent about Kaepernick's actions citing First Amendment rights. That didn't go over well with football fans. The NFL saw a large drop in viewership when nothing was done about it.
Players on other teams decided to do the same thing in support of Kaepernick. Black activists nationwide protested because Kaepernick didn't get signed by another team after losing his position with the Forty-Niners. They called it "racism" even though 70% of NFL players are black. The truth is that Kaepernick is toxic to any team that signs him because he disrespects all Americans, and especially our military veterans, by kneeling during our national anthem.
For some reason I was compelled to look
up the actual definition of the word "kneel" this morning.
I was surprised by what I learned.
Kneel (nēl/verb): be in or assume a
position in which the body is supported by a knee or the knees, as
when praying or showing submission.
"As when praying or showing
submission." I found that interesting. Certainly Kaepernick
meant his gesture to be disrespectful to the flag and the national
anthem but I wonder if he knew that by kneeling he was actually
showing submission, according to the definition of the word.
Somehow I doubt it.
No comments:
Post a Comment