By now you've heard of the 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick. The five-year pro out of Nevada has created quite the firestorm for refusing to stand for the national anthem during a recent preseason game.
When asked why he wouldn't stand for the anthem, he said "I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses Black people and people of color. 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.”
Fellow NFL fans, players, and coaches have taken to twitter to show their feelings on the matter. Now, Eagles linebacker Myke Tavarres has said that he will join Kaepernick in not standing for the national anthem.
"Oh, I thought about it. Believe me, I definitely thought about it," Tavarres told ESPN. "And usually I'm front and center on the line with the rest of the guys, and that's since pre-K all the way up. Saturday's game, I stepped back, I was in the background, and it didn't feel right to me at all, and so I will be taking a stand — or sitting down — for the fourth game.
"We've got an issue in this country in this day and age, and I feel like somebody needs to step up and we all need to step up. We've got that right. There's just a lot going on that people don't want to talk about, and I feel like us as athletes, we're looked at as role models. And I feel like with Colin Kaepernick, he's doing a great job for standing up in what he believes in, and most people may not like that, but that's his opinion, he's entitled to it, and I respect him for doing it."
Kaepernick's former coach Jim Harbaugh isn't supportive of his former QB's stand.
"I acknowledge his right to do that. I don't respect the motivation or the action," said Harbaugh.
Before you set out to boycot the 49ers, consider this. According to Pro Football Talk, Kaepernick might be hard pressed to make the 49ers opening day lineup .
“Regardless of politics or not, he has a very, very big uphill battle to make this team,” Glazer said. “I’d be shocked if he’s on the 49ers by the time this season ends. It has nothing to do with political views whatsoever. He lost a ton of weight this offseason, had three surgeries, couldn’t work out, lost that double threat, that size-speed ratio. No political views, he just hasn’t been effective. He’s regressing as a player. I’d be shocked if he’s on this roster by the end of this year. He may not be on it in the next two weeks.”
I've been reading some of the posts about this matter on Twitter and Facebook. Honestly, I am not going to get all that fussed about it. Hey, if the guy wants to act like this it's his right. Who am I to say he can't make these statements. It's protected speech. Hey y'all this is why we wore the uniform, right? Defend the constitution. We can't pick and choose which amendments we want to follow.
Second, it's Kaepernick's first amendment right to take this stand. We don't have to like it, but it's his right and we can respectfully disagree with him.
However he's not protected from the consequences of his free speech. The 1st amendment isn't a force field that insulates Kaepernick from whatever blow-back that might come his way. If for example he loses all of his endorsements he has nobody to blame but himself. If he's so committed to his cause he should put him money where his mouth is and do it on his own time. Not when he's on the clock wearing the uniform of his employer.
ReplyDeleteThe whole Kaepernick has a right is a stupid meme. It's in response to the criticism of his actions. So in this case Goon seems to think that Kaepernick's first amendment rights outweigh our rights and we should just shut up about it.
ReplyDeleteI don't agree with that at all. First of all the substance of his complaints is BS. Cops aren't out there randomly gunning down black people. In fact they shoot more white people. Secondly he's going about it the wrong way.
He's a complete idiot.