Kaepernick’s Legacy Lives On

by

A widely held assumption among NFL executives was that the national anthem protests started last year by quarterback Colin Kaepernick would end with the beginning of the 2017 season. The belief was that with Kaepernick flagrantly blackballed by the league for his political views against police brutality and racism, players would get the message to just “shut up and play.”

Yet the truth has turned out to be far different. We have instead seen, in the NFL preseason, a flowering of players using their platform to sit down, raise a fist, or take a knee during the anthem. Then, after the games, they are explaining why. For most, it comes down to three words: Trump, Charlottesville, and pride.

Some players are moved by the presidency of Donald Trump and the dangerous divisions he stokes. Others are prompted by the sight of neo-Nazis on the march and the killing of Heather Heyer in Charlottesville. At a preseason game in August, Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Chris Long, an alumnus of the University of Virginia, became the first white player to take part, putting his hand on the shoulder of teammate Malcolm Jenkins, who was raising his fist. Long has also expressed his outrage following the Nazi march in his hometown as well as Donald Trump’s shameful response.

After the game, Long said, “It’s been a hard week for everybody. It’s not just a hard week for someone being from Charlottesville. It’s a tough week for America. I’ve heard a lot of people say, ‘Why do athletes get involved in the national anthem protests?’ I’ve said before that I’ll never kneel for an anthem because the flag means something different for everybody in this country, but I support my peers. If you don’t see why you need allies for people that are fighting for equality right now, I don’t think you’ll ever see it.”

The main reason players are still resisting is that the issues Kaepernick raised have not been resolved.

But the main reason players are still resisting is that the issues Kaepernick raised have not been resolved; that he is no longer in the league is the proof of this. As Jenkins said, after continuing his protest from a year ago, “Last season, I raised my fist as a sign of solidarity to support people, especially people of color, who were and are still unjustly losing their lives at the hands of officers with little to no consequence. After spending time with police officers on ride-alongs, meeting with politicians on the state and federal level and grassroots organizations fighting for human rights, it’s clear that our criminal justice system is still crippling communities of color through mass incarceration.”

Then there is the issue of basic fairness. Star quarterbacks without a reputation for speaking out, Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers and Cam Newton of the Carolina Panthers have both gone out of their way to say that it is absurd to see Kaepernick without a team. Rodgers said it was “ignorant” to think Kaepernick is unemployed because of his play.

“I think he should be on a roster right now,” Rodgers told ESPN’s Mina Kimes. “I think because of his protests, he’s not.”

Newton said, “Should he be on a roster, in my opinion? Absolutely; there’s no question about it. Is he good enough to be on a roster, is he good enough to be a starting quarterback? Absolutely.”

The “blackballing” (or “whiteballing,” as Jesse Jackson calls it) of Colin Kaepernick points up a double standard. White NFL team owners feel free to mix sports and politics, with their generous financial support of Donald Trump. But when players, the people fans pay to see, try to mix sports and politics, they find themselves treated as disposable as an old jock strap.

But the players aren’t going to take it, and neither are the fans. The protests are not over. The efforts by NFL owners to turn Colin Kaepernick into a ghost story to scare current players have failed. They are the ones now being haunted.

Dave Zirin is the host of the popular Edge of Sports podcast and sports editor of The Nation.