August 26, 2016. That was the date where Colin Kaepernick, then the quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers, was seen sitting on the bench during the national anthem. Sept 1, a week after the protest was maid public, Kaepernick would change his protest from sitting to taking a knee (I’ll get into the reasoning for his actions in a bit). These two events combined to touch off one of the most volatile and explosive debates in recent memory. People were fighting each other trying to get their point across, longtime friendships were ended and Facebook blocking was at an all-time high. In the midst of all of the mutiny, the original reasons for Kap’s protest were lost in the shuffle, and everything turned into a political firestorm that rendered the NFL clueless on how to deal with it all.
As for the reasons why Kaepernick was protesting, we have to remember, no matter what side we want to argue, his position was taken to bring attention to social injustices going on in America. The stance going from sitting down altogether to taking a knee was because of a conversation Kap had with Nate Boyer, who was an Army Green Beret member (one of the military’s elite units). It was Boyer who recommended taking the knee, which is a way the military honors the fallen. It never was, as Kaepernick said, about disrespecting the military or the country’s flag. Like everyone else, I can go on and on about my feelings, but that’s not the reason for this article. I just wanted to set the stage on how we ended up at what transpired last week, and because of the sides involved, why we are still at the same spot we have been at all along, which is on the road to nowhere fast.
Since Kap opted out of his deal with the 49ers after the 2016 season, he hasn’t played in the NFL. The deal opt-out was purely Kaepernick’s decision, but I tend to think San Francisco was going to move on from him anyway. Be as it may, it’s been a while since Kap has been on an NFL field, and based on the overall quarterback play throughout the league, it’s hard to figure out why he couldn’t get a roster spot. There are two things the NFL cares about more than anything else, money and optics. Of course, the league would say otherwise, but their actions speak louder than their words. The anthem protest controversy, fairly or unfairly, put a dent into the league’s ratings. Combine that with the fact they didn’t know how to handle things because of public outcry, and you have an optics nightmare that messes with their money. There are people who say the league colluded to keep Kaepernick out of the league, and based on the way the league handles things, I don’t think it’s a stretch for someone to have that opinion. To move on, the league and Kaepernick would come to a settlement after the former 49ers star sued the league. Part of the settlement was Kap would get a workout that could be checked out by all of the teams. Apparently, it would be the league’s choosing when the workout would take place, because they chose a random Saturday during the season, with only a few days notice and a day before almost all of the teams play in their respective games. The timing of this announcement seems shady, and it screams covering their asses from a league known for trying to cover their asses. The NFL knows there are people who want to see Kaepernick get a shot to play, and by doing this, they can say they granted that opportunity. Again, it’s all about optics.
While the NFL is guilty of a lot in my estimation, Kaepernick isn’t completely innocent. While the original reason for the protest is legit, Kap can get in the way of his own message (see the pig socks and Fidel Castro shirt he has worn in the past), and we really haven’t heard if he even wants to play. When Kap talked after Saturday’s workout, which was moved from the original location given by the NFL, that was one of the first times we heard definitively he wanted to play in years. In regards to the workout, people said Kap looked good, but there’s no way of telling how good he can be unless can get time in an actual game, and judging off of Kap’s other comments calling out the 32 owners of the NFL teams, we probably won’t be seeing that anytime soon, if at all. The bottom line is as much as I would like to say this was a productive event, I really can’t say that because nothing positive came out of it. If anything, the wedge between the two sides became bigger.
So here’s where we’re at. The NFL did what they always do, which is look out for their money and optics. I don’t think Kaepernick helped his cause out either. Therefore, we are where we have always been since the original protest, which is heavily divided, and left searching for a solution. How this saga ends is anyone’s guess, but one thing is for sure. There are no winners here, and things will continue to be bitter between the two sides for the foreseeable future. The saddest thing is a once promising career appears to be over, and because that’s probably been the case long before a supposed workout.
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