Colin Kaepernick Sat Down for the Anthem, Good For Him
Americans are a pretty patriotic lot. Call that a brainwashing if you will in a country which has a political system crooked enough that Donald Trump is running for President, in which gun crime is an epidemic and yet nothing is being done about it, in which police violence is constantly papered over by the authorities leaving communities terrified that a cop stop could mean their life. But they’re still a patriotic lot and there’s nothing they love more than symbolic representations of that: their flag, their military, their Olympic team, their greasy fast food and, yes, their national anthem.
Their national anthem which, by the way, is all about their flag. That Star Spangled Banner, o say can you see it by the dawn’s early light? The same flag they so proudly hailed the night before, with those bright stars and broad stripes that gallantly streamed through the perilous fight? As far as anthems go, it’s a decent one. Nothing compared to those of France, Italy or Argentina, for example, but it’s alright.
That’s irrelevant though, to Americans the tune itself isn’t important. The words don’t really matter, most Americans probably don’t even know what a ’rampart’ is. What’s important is what it represents.
San Francisco 49ers quarterback (sort of, it’s complicated) Colin Kaepernick knows what it represents and with that he made a proper ol’ statement during the third week of preseason when he refused to stand for it. In New Zealand, I doubt I’m the only one who sometimes gets up to refill my drink during the anthem before an All Blacks test so that I can get back to my seat before the haka starts but over in the USA this is kind of a big deal.
Colin Kaepernick: "I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of colour. 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."
As it happens, this isn’t the first time that Kaepernick has done this. He also sat during the anthem in earlier preseason game (in which he didn’t play) but this time he came out with the fiery quotes to back up his actions. Typically, that was the difference in getting the story picked up across the nation and the world and as such what he’s chosen to do here has drawn plenty of criticism. You know what Americans are like. But then others have also risen to his defence.
Kaepernick, by the way, is biracial and was raised by adopted white parents.
This is not a new thing, athletes standing up for social justice. Think Tommie Smith and John Carlos with their black power salute in 1968. Think Muhammad Ali and his draft dodging a couple of years later. That cost him three and a half years of his career, people forget. The undefeated heavyweight champion of the world did not fight for that entire time. In the half century since then, we’ve not often found ourselves in similar times of political upheaval. Now might be the closest to the 1960s that we’ve been ever since.
Earlier in the year, LeBron James, Chris Paul, Dwyane Wade and Carmelo Anthony were widely praised for their live statement on many of the same issues that Kaepernick is protesting here before the ESPY awards. LeBron James in particular has made a concerted effort in recent years to use his influence in a positive way. Scroll down many prominent athlete’s twitter profiles and you’ll see all number of politically minded tweets and retweets. LeBron and Kaepernick are two of the best examples of that.
It’s interesting because while you can draw the parallel between the 60s and the current day, Ali lost his titles for his stand. Smith and Carlos struggled to find work after their careers finished. Today, in contrast, these things are generally seen as positives.
Even on an organisational level, where traditionally they preferred their athletes to keep their mouths shut on anything remotely political, this is unlikely to see any punishment. The NFL has already said that standing during the anthem is “encouraged but not required” while the 49ers put out a statement that doesn’t exactly support his actions but it supports his intentions.
San Francisco 49ers: “The national anthem is and always will be a special part of the pre-game ceremony. It is an opportunity to honor our country and reflect on the great liberties we are afforded as its citizens. In respecting such American principles as freedom of religion and freedom of expression, we recognize the right of an individual to choose and participate, or not, in our celebration of the national anthem.”
Here’s the difference between LeBron/CP3/Dwyane/Melo and Kaepernick, though: all four are sure bet Hall of Famers. LeBron might be the greatest player of all time, certainly the best of his generation. Colin Kaepernick is not at all on that level and at this stage in his career, he’s as likely to be widely booed and rebuked as anything else and the abrasive nature of his protest only adds to that.
Having burst onto the scene in 2012 as a mid-season fill-in for an injured Alex Smith, his dynamic zone-read style saw him make an immediate impact on the NFL. A big win over what was then a strong Chicago Bears defence won him plenty of fans and before long he’d forced one of those famous quarterback controversies. Smith returned to health but Kaepernick held the starter’s role and took the team all the way to the Super Bowl, where he completed 16/28 passes for 302 yards with a touchdown and an interception. He also rushed for a TD with 62 yards on the ground in a 34-31 defeat to the Baltimore Ravens. His real breakout had come a few weeks earlier in a playoff win over Green Bay where he did this:
It was enough that Smith was eventually traded to Kansas City and Kap was named the full-time starter. A solid 2013 season saw the Niners beaten in the NFC Championship game and pretty soon Kap was signing a six-year US$126m contract extension.
However an 8-8 season followed in which they missed the playoffs altogether and concerns grew that opposition defences were figuring out his game. Specifically, you take away the run and ask him to throw from the pocket and he wasn’t half the QB he once appeared. There was definitely some truth in that because in 2015 he went 2-6 as a starter, completing at 59% with 6 TDs and 5 INTs. Blaine Gabbert was starting ahead of him by the middle of the season and Kap was being quietly shuffled away for season ending surgery.
It should be pointed out that during his extended slump, the 49ers underwent some crazy changes. They lost head coach Jim Harbaugh in not-entirely amicable circumstances and had an unprecedented exodus of playing talent. From guys that were let go in free agency to unexpected retirements and significant suspensions. It was so bad that an Aussie rookie ended up as their punt returner for a while.
But things haven’t steadied for Kaepernick since. His technique is now widely considered flawed and although Gabbert is hardly an enviable replacement, Kap’s had several surgeries recently which have seen him stuck in rehab processes for most of the offseason. Because of that, the preseason game (the 49ers’ third) vs Green Bay in which he sat sternly on the bench during the anthem was his first appearance of the year and he completed just 2/6 passes for 14 yards. Looking very short on game time and confidence both.
This also comes not that long after he handed in a trade request to the team as he continued to butt heads with the suits above him in the franchise. If he’d hoped that new head coach Chip Kelly might save his career then apparently those thoughts had faded by then. The Denver Broncos were on the verge of trading for him in April but things stalled when Kap refused (as per his right as a professional) to take a pay cut. Instead the Broncos traded for Mark Sanchez and drafted Paxton Lynch. Trevor Siemian will likely start for them in week one.
Point being, as noble and right-minded as this protest may be – and that’s still a matter of personal opinion – Colin Kaepernick is not in a very powerful position to be making it. Which is sad because athletes have such a privileged place in society and this moving trend in 2016 of people using that voice to promote the right kind of things is 100% impressive. Make no mistake, this was a huge risk for Kap and any kind of bravery like that deserves respect, even if you don’t agree with it all. And now soon after Kaepernick made his stand (/sit), rumours are that the San Francisco 49ers are preparing to cut him.
Colin Kaepernick: “I don’t know. But if I do [get cut], I know I did what’s right. And I can live with that at the end of the day.”
See, the starter’s gig has been Gabbert’s from the beginning. Kap hasn’t made the outstanding impact he needed to do to win it back, he hasn’t even had the chance, and when the franchise is out there trying not to embarrass itself on the field, the last thing it needs is distractions off of it. No matter how righteous they may be. Up until now the only thing keeping him on the roster has been his expensive contract – he’s worth $14.3m in cap space this season that the Niners cannot escape.
Of course, getting cut may be his best way of getting onto another team. If that’s the case then why not push the envelope for something you believe in? Better than getting suspended for acting out negatively. On the other side of things, perhaps he sees that at 28 years old when his career should be entering its peak, he’s perched on the verge of losing his career entirely and maybe if he doesn’t see himself in the NFL much longer he wants to use the time he has left in the spotlight to do something worthwhile. Not to suggest that either of these theories are anything other than that: theories.
Most likely we’re seeing a situation unrelated to any “footballing matters” (as his coach calls them), where a man in his twenties with a political conscious has found himself disillusioned with the state of his nation and it just so happens that he earns a substantial living in a very public arena where emblematic acts of patriotism are taken as second nature.
Is it disrespectful what he chose to do? Yes, it’s supposed to be disrespectful. That’s how it gets noticed. And maybe these emblematic acts of patriotism, as Colin Kaepernick is trying to say, really aren’t that meaningful when the reality doesn’t measure up to the ideology.
Colin Kaepernick: “People don't realise what's really going on in this country. There are a lot of things that are going on that are unjust. People aren't being held accountable for. And that's something that needs to change. That's something that this country stands for freedom, liberty and justice for all. And it's not happening for all right now.”