For African Americans, there is never a satisfactory, uncontroversial way to protest the myriad of injustices that target African Americans in our country. Colin Kaepernick has become an emblems of the “wrong” way to protest, drawing significant backlash and criticism. The repercussions of Kaepernick’s kneeling during the national anthem in the 2016 season has resulted in his inability to play in the NFL and according to GQ’s editorial on Kaepernick, his “vilification by millions” both within the NFL and outside of it.
Kaepernick was just named GQ’s Citizen of the Year, reviving a year-long battle over protests against police brutality. The political firestorm that has surrounded the NFL in the past year over this controversial, racially coded issue continues to beg the question: what is the appropriate way to protest?
Unfortunately, for African Americans, political protest is all-too-often deemed violent, inappropriate, and disrespectful, and Kaepernick is no exception.
Like the Black Lives Matter movement, Kaepernick’s protest has catalyzed and divided the nation. Trump, in an unsurprising tweet, called on NFL team owners to fire players who do not “respect” the national anthem.
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But what does the national anthem represent? What happens when a triumphant song that celebrates democracy, equality, and respect doesn’t hold up these standards equally for all its citizens? The most striking aspect of the political firestorm that has enveloped Kaepernick is the irony between the perceived disrespect against our nation, members of law enforcement and the military and so forth, and the “equality” that our flag allegedly represents. Not standing up for the national anthem is disrespectful to white America, for those who have always had their rights protected and respected under the auspices of the flag.
However, the NFL took a seemingly decisive stand against Trump’s tweet: all 32 team owners issued statements “in defiance and unity” against the President.
Many teams kneeled before the anthem or simply stayed in the locker room. However, this isn’t an example of solidarity against police brutality or even the president for that matter, but a thinly veiled façade aimed at retaining devoted fans while giving the semblance of addressing political controversy on the turf. The cutting juxtaposition between Kaepernick’s silent protest on the sidelines against white, wealthy team owners kneeling in front of millions of fans illuminates the irony at the heart of this controversy: it’s okay for players and owners to kneel in solidarity, but it’s emphatically not okay to kneel when that solidarity condemns police brutality.
However, the NFL, under intense pressure from fans who find kneeling offensive, has since issued a statement stating, “Like many of our fans, we believe that everyone should stand for the national anthem.” This political flip-flopping on behalf of Roger Goodell and the NFL is, sadly, both predictable, unsurprising and ultimately illustrates the insecure commercial interests of the National Football League. While the NFL may feel that they can take a seemingly decisive stand against the president, they cannot afford to lose their devoted fan-base. The NFL could care less about their player’s freedom to protest – they care about their fans and the profits that come with them.
The football field has never, and will never, be free from political controversy. When that political commentary is expressed by an African American quarterback, suddenly it becomes distasteful and offensive.
Protesting against injustice against African Americans has triggered a distinctly white backlash – a backlash steeped in the baseless assumption that kneeling during the national anthem is disrespectful. But every political protest by African Americans is ultimately deemed wrong and inappropriate, which highlights the ongoing inability for America to respect any protest organized by African Americans that calls attention to the racial inequities that continue to define the socio-political moment.
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