The NFL season begins with an epic Super Bowl rematch between the Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers. Odds are one team will win and the other team will lose, unless there is a tie.
Wings will be eaten, bets will be wagered and expletives will be uttered. The NFL is a behemoth. It owns a day of the week and will eventually petition the United States to create an eighth day just so it can own that one, too.
This is all well and good, but somehow, the start to football isn’t nearly as important as the backup quarterback of the putrid San Francisco 49ers.
By now, you probably have heard about Colin Kaepernick, the man sitting during the national anthem in order to start a discussion on the violence and systemic racism inherent to the U.S.
“I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color,” Kaepernick told NFL Media. “To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.”
Of course, in today’s media landscape everyone has a take, from fellow athletes to news pundits to politicians, including cartoon villain Donald Trump. There seem to be two camps: those hallowing and those vilifying the quarterback, when, honestly, Kaepernick isn’t what truly matters here.
In the age of 24/7 sports coverage and crying Michael Jordan memes, it seems the message to any public stand is often forgotten; it’s the person and what they’re doing to create this uproar that garners the attention.
The real story here is that a player — doesn’t matter who — is speaking out against a public crisis and we should now discuss the problem.
Kaepernick will continue to sit during the anthem — as he has every right to do — but instead of focusing on him, we should instead be discussing ways to fix the discrimination and xenophobia that plagues us.
In this case, and many others, it’s not about the method but the message.
Kaepernick is a pioneer and role model to many. His name has now topped the NFL jersey sales, and quite a few other athletes — including other NFL players and women’s soccer star Megan Rapinoe — are following in the 49er’s footsteps.
There’s now a conversation about black lives and how they matter on perhaps the biggest stage in America. Colin Kaepernick has done his job. It’s now up to the rest of us to continue his dialogue and work toward a more perfect union.
gigottfr@umail.iu.edu
