I don't mind if he wants to speak out about something, but I thought the manner in which he did it was poorly conceived.
In my opinion, it doesn't matter. Would you think less of Rosa Parks if she sat during the anthem? How would it be different? Isn't it "white liberal establishment likes the minorities standing up for themselves, but it should be without making us uncomfortable"? You expect Kap to respect the state, flag and anthem. That's fine. He asks you (not you personally) to respect the constitution that states everyone to be equal. I don't see how it's poorly conceived. Side note: I am not sure that was his thought process and I am not american, so it is easier for me to rationalize it. Also... what am I doing in a thread on that wierd sport you guys call football...?
To me it's not about being white or liberal because I'm neither. The reality is he's at his workplace and he's expected to behave a certain way at work. In doing this he's done three things that I don't support: 1. Taken attention away from his performance/job. The most powerful statements come from the most powerful people. Kaepernick's job was in jeopardy. There were (still are a few) who thought he might be cut because of his job performance. Causing this sort of ruckus to me is a sign that he's clawing for relevance in order to keep his job. That cheapens his message. Kareem was a champion of social reform, but that never stopped him from perfecting himself as a professional (even if he was surly with the media). 2. Created unnecessary and uncalled for pressure on his teammates and peers. By choosing to do it THERE he has now put his contemporaries and especially his teammates in the position where if they don't sit with him, they're against his cause and if they do sit with him they put themselves in the same predicament he finds himself in. That's unfair to his teammates. If Kaepernick wants to champion social progress in his own personal time, then that's fine. Do it in a smarter and more constructive way. 3. As a professional football player as soon as you're on the field, you're on the job. To me, this is a professional distraction. I've felt strongly about social issues enough to ask my co-workers for support, but I've never staged a stand-up in a meeting with potential investors in order to make a point. That'd be a distraction. I waited until after work and those who wanted to join me could and those who didn't were free not to (most don't). That way I'm not burdening my workplace with my ideas. The way and time that Kaepernick chose to make his stance is unprofessional in my opinion. Rams coach Jeff Fisher had a small segment on Hard Knocks that showed how he wanted his team to stand during the anthem. It was a professional responsibility to them and I think that's right. Just last year guys on the Rams came out of the locker room with their hands up to protest police shooting innocent people. To me that was the absolute limit. It created buzz, but while you're jogging into the stadium you're not told how to do it. It was a gray area that they took advantage of and it brought awareness to the cause. Now if the Niners do not have a policy on how to stand, that changes the argument somewhat but if that's their policy I disagree with it too. The other point is why now? Why is he doing it this weekend? What particularly is he fighting against? To me this action rings hollow.
As a Veteran, I fully support his right to protest via Freedom of Speech and Expression. I support anyone exercising this right, even if I don't agree with them. As a 49er fan, I find it repulsive that he made this about him and his views and is taking away from the team. As this thread speaks of, I was a big Kaepernick fan and thought he'd be building a Hall of Fame resume. I was so wrong. He's been horrible the last 2 years and isn't even starter or backup material, but is the highest paid on the team. The sooner we get rid of him, the better. I find it interesting that people criticize Jordan for never speaking out and criticize Kaepernick for speaking out. Maybe it was just the manner in which he did it (blaming the flag as a symbol of oppression, which is ridiculous). I feel he could have handled this so much better, but I'm not in his shoes.
Jerry Rice, Tiki Barber, Drew Brees, Richard Sherman, Hines Ward and Victor Cruz weren't too thrilled about how he went about it either. He's probably gonna get cut from the team for football reasons in the next couple days though.
Question: If Obama gave a State of the Union address and Congress refused to stand up, would people be mad? I think they would be.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/sport...-kaepernick-pig-socks-san-francisco/89715672/ He's getting a lot of heat on this now.
He played alright against the 2nd/3rd stringers yesterday. To his credit, he's now taking a more active role. My problem from day one was that I thought it was a publicity stunt to save his job. It still could be, but at least he's putting his money where his mouth is.
Love this MLK quote updated to apply to all people that disagree with a method of protest, not just white folks:
I suppose that means I'm a detriment to social progress? I still stand by my original take. I'm not a fan of the way he started this thing. To his credit he's backing up his actions now, but I still think he's far from a social justice hero.
It's not about being a social justice hero. It's that fact that demanding justice doesn't go on your, or any other person's schedule, and there will never be an acceptable time to demand justice if people cared about other's time frame demands.
It isn't about that? Because that seems to be the vocal minority that's telling me I should back off and hate other people instead. The reality is he's at work and if this were my team I'd be upset that he's distracting from our team in order to push his own agenda. He can push this agenda today if he wants before or after the game. Like I said: I can't stage a stand-up in a business meeting just to make a statement. I also still strongly suspect that Kaepernick did this without a true feel for what he was doing and now that he's entrenched in it he's starting to become more and more involved.
He's at work. He could have waited till the off season. He didn't have to protest that way. He isn't being patriotic. He probably had ulterior motives. He's not going to affect real change. etc, etc ... It doesn't matter what your particular gripe with the way he did it is. The reality is, there will always be some gripe, some criticism, some way in which protesting isn't convenient, or timely. If you're not his boss, why does his boss's inconvenience mean more to you than the cause Kaepernick is protesting? Protest is about raising awareness of an issue of injustice EFFECTIVELY, not anyone else's convenience. If his boss wants to fire him, that's between them. So how else does Kaepernick protest in a time, place, and manner that garners as much discussion as what he did here?
Fully support him as a human being. Never been a fan of him as an athlete, but I'm rooting for him now.
Well it's not my responsibility to determine whether he gets fired, doesn't mean I have to support it. Doesn't mean I have to like it. I'm entitled to that opinion. If I were his teammate and he chose that time to do that, I wouldn't be happy about it but to each their own. How does he garner interest? Hold meetings, hold rallies, stage protests, any number of things that people have done forever and have done it effectively. I already said I supported the Rams players who came into the stadium with their hands held up to protest a similar (the same) issue. Why weren't they given more attention? I have no idea. They were supported by their organization. Once you're on the field, you're a professional and I don't think it's appropriate to act that way at work. I can't, so why should he be able to? Other players can't, so why should he be able to? I don't like it. If the organization doesn't care, that's on them but it doesn't mean I have to like it. Again, I think this started as a disingenuous attempt to get attention and now it's taken a life of it's own. I hope he gets what he wants out of this, but I'm not the only one who looked at the start of this and thought the man was fighting to remain relevant. Now he's got that. Now he's back in the limelight so his original mission is accomplished. Hopefully he continues his stance and tries to affect actual change.
To me, every complaint you're giving seem really minor and nitpicking in comparison to the actual topic he's protesting and the manner in which he did it. He remained seated during the national anthem in protest of people getting killed. Seems pretty benign to me as far as protest actions go, yet here we are talking about it for weeks.
