“Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything.”
This is a phrase most Americans can get behind. It’s a bold statement and it calls for bold actions.
Now, by strategically placing that same phrase on the bridge of Colin Kaepernick’s nose, right below his eyes the boldness of that statement is now on a hundred, thousand, trillion.
On Labor Day, Nike released it’s new ad featuring Kaepernick for the 30th anniversary of its “Just Do It” campaign, and some folks in America have been in a tizzy ever since.
How could Nike, an American company based in Oregon that supposedly upholds American values, support someone who is so anti-America? Although Kaepernick and a bazillion other people have explained a bazillion times over that his taking a knee during the national anthem is about bringing attention to police brutality and injustices faced by Black Americans, many choose to believe otherwise. I’m convinced people who believe the protest “disrespects the flag, military and police” are purposely tone deaf.
Ignorance is easy. It takes work to stop, think and reconcile your beliefs with the truth. Many don’t want to work that much so they remain ignorant.
It doesn’t matter when you tell people that Kaepernick actually conferred with Nate Boyer, a Green Beret and NFL player, on a way to protest and still be respectful to the military. It doesn’t matter that many people who actually served in the military don’t find his actions disrespectful. Somehow, though, those who’ve never done anything for this country other than stand for the national anthem get awfully bent out of shape.
I’ve never understood how a country that professes to love its veterans so much so often mistreats these same veterans. I can drive all over this city and find any number of homeless veterans. Men and women who are often homeless because of medical conditions that prevent them from working, and the government has yet to provide proper medical care. As a Black woman I know the history of how America treated Black soldiers who fought in wars for freedom that they couldn’t even enjoy. The despicable way Americans treated Vietnam veterans who returned home isn’t too far in the past.
Instead of actually doing something meaningful, we have fools burning Nike tennis shoes and cutting up socks. I’m not sure how that’s supposed to hurt Nike’s feelings. Nike already made their money on those purchased items. Why not donate those items to the veterans you purport to care so much about? That sounds too much like right — and like actually doing something meaningful. And where was all this fury when Nike was accused of running sweatshops and violating child labor laws? Hypocrites.
Kaepernick isn’t even protesting the national anthem itself — of which there is just cause, by the way. “The Star Spangled Banner,” written in 1814 and adopted as the national anthem in 1931, has some problematic wording. No, he wasn’t protesting a problematic song, but the problem of police brutality in America — and it was a silent protest at that. Ever since he took his first knee, Americans have debated why (although he’s stated it) and how his protest was all wrong based on where it took place (his job), how he did it (silently taking a knee) and when (during the national anthem). My question has always been, if he protested the wrong way, what is the correct way to protest? To which I’ve never received an answer. There is no correct way to protest when you’re a Black man in America. Kaepernick was supposed to just take the money and play.
However, he chose to take America to task and hold her accountable. Here is a man who truly embodies those ideals we “say” we hold dear. He actually lost his job because of his convictions. He so strongly believed he needed to make a statement about the loss of Black life that he sacrificed it all. True, football is a game, but it was how he made his living. He also risked future earnings as well — and possibly more. So while I recognize Nike is a corporation and using a social justice issue to make money (this is America), I’m glad Kaepernick is benefitting.
