Since 49’ers QB Colin Kaepernick choose to sit during the National Anthem there’s been a non-stop fire storm across the country regarding his actions.
Since the”sit-in” other NFL players, including Denver Broncos Brandon Marshall, have jumped on that band wagon in solidarity with Kaepernick, his actions and his reasons for the Flag protest.
The Seattle Seahawks, in the boldest move to date, are planning their own demonstration on the 15th Anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. I am not going to talk about the complete and total disrespect any player would be showing our country on this sacred day. If I did, my thoughts and words would be more of anger and disgust, than of rational thought.
Since Colin Kaepernick pretty much was the catalyst of this whole mess, I’m going to focus on his explanation of his “sit-in”. When he released a statement to the NFL media as to why he abstained from showing respect to the flag and to country I couldn’t help but to notice the extreme irony and hypocrisy of his protest.
“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 in an exclusive interview after the game. “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.”
First lets look at his statement about showing pride in a flag.
The irony that the very symbol of the freedoms in our country including the First Amendment is the subject of protest does not escape me. Over the years I have seen citizens of this country burn, desecrate, and disrespect the flag for a multitude of reasons. Though there is US Code protecting our flag from such action.
The US Supreme Court has ruled it is a First Amendment right to be able to Constitutionally express one’s self in such a manner. That ruling effectively gives one the right to destroy the very symbol representing that right and all rights afforded to the citizens of this nation. That is extreme irony if I have ever seen it.
Second, Kaepernick flatly states the country, his country, “oppresses black people and people of color” and goes on to say it would be selfish for him to “look the other way“.
However, he and other players are looking the other way when it comes to the freedoms, privilege, and opportunities this country has afforded all Americans regardless of color or race. This includes the “oppressive” salaries these players receive.
At the website Spotrac.com which tracks contract agreements, salaries, bonuses, caps and transactions of our professional athletes, I have found a little of that “oppression” to sink some hypocritical teeth into.
- Colin Kaepernick signed a 6 year, $114,000,000 contract with the San Francisco 49ers, including a $12,328,766 signing bonus, $61,000,000 guaranteed, and an average annual salary of $19,000,000. In 2016, Kaepernick will earn a base salary of $11,900,000, a roster bonus of $2,000,000 and a workout bonus of $400,000. Kaepernick has a cap hit of $15,890,753 while his dead money value is $19,697,260.
- Brandon Marshall signed a 4 year, $32,000,000 contract with the Denver Broncos, including a $10,000,000 signing bonus, $20,000,000 guaranteed, and an average annual salary of $8,000,000. In 2016, Marshall will earn a base salary of $2,553,000 and a signing bonus of $10,000,000. Marshall has a cap hit of $4,553,000 while his dead money value is $12,553,000.
- Seattle Seahawks contracts for their active players range from 87.6 million to $450,000.
I wont even get into the thousands of African-Americans and minority men & women who are famous, high-ranking, iconic, cultural giants, and respected individuals that not only made this country what it is, but if it wasn’t for this country, may have never risen to the status that has made them great.
However, if you listen and believe the statements of Kaepernick and other athletes, you may believe that our country is a mirror image of some of the most oppressive nations on the planet.
Finally let’s address the hypocrisy of the line “There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder“.
We live in a nation where an individual is innocent until proven guilty. Mr. Kaepernick seems to have a problem with the idea of Law Enforcement being placed on paid administrative leave after an officer involved shooting and while it is being investigated.
The majority of all our police are afforded that right through contractual agreements with the Police Departments they work for and which the Police Unions negotiate those contracts. Teachers unions, and many other private and public sector unions have similar provisions in their contracts regarding paid administrative leave during circumstances regarding criminal and civil investigations.
Guess what other organization continues to honor contractual agreements regarding monies to individuals even when they are being investigated for criminal and civil violations?
If you said the NFL, then you got the question right. However, if your Colin Kaepernick, or any other player in the league who forgot to mention that little tidbit, you may be a hypocrite.
USAToday has compiled a database of NFL players who have been arrested, detained, charged and indicted since January of 2000. The numbers are staggering.
I wonder how many of those athletes immediately got their contracts voided, money flow taken away, and were left unemployed during any and all of these investigations, incidents and court proceedings. I will leave that answer up to those in the NFL who are complaining about paid administrative leave for police officers.
So I say to the professional athletes who are choosing to stand with Kaepernick by abstaining respecting our flag and our nation, maybe you should take a hard long look at our history, our freedoms, and your own house before you choose this type of protest.
“People who live in glass houses should not throw stones, or footballs for that matter”
UPDATE:
On November 9th, 2016 the day after the election it was learned that Colin Kaepernick DID NOT take part in voting in the 2016 Presidential election. This fact did not go unnoticed and was addressed by Stephen A. Smith during the ESPN show First Take. Stephen’s rant is EPIC!
“For him not to vote…as far as I’m concerned, everything he said meant absolutely nothing!”
– @stephenasmith on Colin Kaepernick pic.twitter.com/gShvVfVoAt
— First Take (@FirstTake) November 9, 2016
Thank you to the CarolinaPlottHound for linking
Thank you to Doug Ross Journal for linking
Thank you to Grumpy Opinions for linking
LL1885 
Agree, Liberty Speaks, and well summarized. The ironies are so deep in protests against symbols that apply to all of us, and that all colors/genders/types of people have sacrificed for. The victims of 9/11 were varied in all ways, as are our men/women who’ve given their all for our military.
I end up wondering what is sacred anymore? Can Americans have any day that is just a memorial for us all to observe, or is literally every day, every event, every anything now used to publicize my protest?
I’ve posed this question to many who disagree with me. Their answers indicate that if you feel left out of society or victimized by it, you have the right to turn upside down anything you want. Go ahead and ruin anything and everything for everyone else because you have a grievance. I don’t believe that is a productive attitude. That’s where I’m stuck….trying to understand and listen, but thinking they need to leave some special days or symbols alone.
LikeLike
Vote with your purse. Boycott professional sports until they get their house cleaned up. No game attendance, no merchandise, no participation. Don’t even watch the games on TV. That’s a message will not be ignored for long.
LikeLike
I deplore boycotts, however, I encourage Individual choices of what someone watches, purchases, supports. The NFL like any other business or corporation that relies on our nations citizens for their livelihood is susceptible to what society thinks of them as a whole. As a whole, I will not condemn all NFL teams, however, I personally am taking a stand against the individual players who wish to protest in this manner, as well as the team they play for. Roger Goodell in my opinion, needs to address this current situation, and should understand, that if he will not allow some teams to “express” themselves, but allows others to do so, he is part of the problem. Case in point is when the 5 Dallas officers were killed, players were not allowed to wear sticker on their helmets. Capitalism is a wonderful machine when it is working, and it can also be the undoing for a business when it angers it’s customers. The choice to “boycott” for me, needs to be on an individual level. If enough individuals all feel the same, then the NFL, will understand that the decisions of these players are effectively becoming a “wrench” that has been tossed into a machine.
LikeLike
As a member of the “basket of deplorables” brigade, I am forever stunned by the supreme idiocy of these overpaid, coddled athletes (and actors for that matter) who rage on in leftist talking points with nary a consideration for the truth. The facts are that Black men represent 6% of the population and commit 52% of the crimes in this country and that 72% of Black babies are born to single mothers. These statistics reflect the deliberate, irresponsible actions of Black men — NOT the police and NOT the White man. But heaven forbid anyone take responsibility for their actions or these coddled idiots do anything in their own communities to stop this downward spiral. It is just so much easier to blame others — or in the case of these elites sit in their swanky town homes and cast dispersions on the unwashed masses.
It is also extremely frustrating that the police unions do not fight back and REFUSE to protect any of these athletes or entertainers who flaunt their disdain for them. Give them a taste of their own medicine for once and see how that works out.
LikeLike
Kim, it is unfortunate we live in a society where the “true privileged” class seem to be encased in a societal bubble. They build narratives around themselves and their actions that rarely encompass the truth, and seldom do they admit falsities in those narratives when they are presented with facts.
LikeLike