I support the cause but I have a question: Do NFL players need to kneel during the National Anthem this fall to effectively protest or not?
In 2016, genuflecting pioneer Colin Kaepernick described his refusal to stand for the anthem this way: “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color.”
At that moment it was distinctly a flag and anthem issue. And at a minimum sitting or kneeling during “The Star-Spangled Banner” made Kaepernick’s protest most effective, providing the megaphone for his message.
But four years later, does the flag still need to be involved?
Depends on who you ask, I guess.
Last August, NFL partner Jay-Z said “I think we’ve moved past kneeling. I think it’s time for action.”
That comment was met with some vitriol, with NFL players Kenny Stills and Eric Reid among those who vehemently disagreed that kneeling was a thing of the past.
Now, the George Floyd murder has changed the conversation dramatically. Earlier this week NFL commissioner Roger Goodell seemingly gave the league’s seal of approval to anthem kneeling, saying they “encourage all to speak out and peacefully protest.”
And to be sure, the national mood has changed. Personally, I feel like I NOW so better understand what Kapernick was fighting for in the first place. It’s a shame it took another graphic killing during a pandemic to bring the message home, but unfortunately, my skull was quite thick on that matter.
But, to be sure, if the flag is still involved this fall some will still be offended. Some may refuse to watch.
If that’s the only choice, then count me in the “so be it” crowd. The essential causes of ending systemic racism and preventing the deaths and mistreatment of more black Americans outweigh any lost TV ratings or corporate dollars.
And yet despite that mindset, I find that I keep asking myself why we have to make that choice? Do the ‘Black Lives Matter’ protests still have to be tied into the Anthem, thereby seriously hurting the feelings of some who served our country, or the families of those who lost loved ones to protect us?
My late father Joe was among those who didn’t understand Kaepernick’s goals in 2016. A Vietnam veteran and lifelong football fan, he quit watching the NFL in the last few years of his life. He felt disrespected. I often ask myself if he would better grasp it all now.
But judging by some callers to The Greg Hill Show this week, we know many still don’t get the anthem tie-in. Our show’s poll question Monday asking, “If NFL players kneel during the national anthem this fall will you be offended?” resulted in 29% of respondents saying they would be bothered by it.
It is still a divisive issue.
On the other hand, by no means do I want to silence black people or their message. Former Patriot Jermaine “Wiggy” Wiggins talked with me after a show this week and told me he believes my suggestion to do away with the playing of the anthem at games altogether would be seen as just that, a minimizing of the movement’s momentum by pulling the proverbial football away.
That is not my intention in any way.
But -- and maybe this is my white privilege at work -- as other athletes speak about the subject confusion sets back in for me.
For instance, shortly after last week’s Drew Brees Yahoo Finance response went viral last week (“I will never agree with anybody disrespecting the flag of the United States of America or our country”) several notable athletes made sure to point out this isn’t and never was a flag issue.
“WOW MAN!!” LeBron James wrote. “Is it still surprising at this point. Sure isn’t! You literally still don’t understand why Kap was kneeling on one knee?? Has absolute nothing to do with the disrespect of [the flag] and our soldiers (men and women) who keep our land free.”
Aaron Rodgers echoed that, saying, “It has NEVER been about an anthem or a flag.”
Here in New England, Patriots Devin and Jason McCourty called Brees’s comments “a disgrace.” They tweeted: “To speak about your grandfathers as if there weren’t black men fighting next to them. Those men later returned to a country that hated them. Don’t avoid the issue and try to make it about a flag or the military. Fight like your grandfathers for what’s right!”
Even Brees later came around to making this point in response to Donald Trump’s lashing out. Brees said he realized, “this is not an issue about the American flag" and "has never been."
So if that is true can NFL players come up with a way to shine an even brighter light on the cause without being divisive to a completely separate cause that everyone says is not supposed to be related anyway?
Look, I’m certainly not the guy who is going to come up with the right answer on what that alternative is. But it is time to repackage the protest to make the message clearer and more palatable to NFL fans. The truth is on Kaepernick’s side, now he must work with the rest of America and get to the actual progress of equal justice under law.
The path to action is through unity.
The point of playing the anthem during sporting events in the first place was to give everyone a way to join together and honor the country. Some black players find it hard to honor the country right now. And when players kneel, we know some other Americans will still feel distinctly disrespected. So playing the anthem at all seems counterproductive on multiple fronts.
And although I’m in the support-the-kneeling crowd, if the flag is waving I’m sure I’ll still be some degree of confused and uncomfortable.
A new pregame ritual and show of activism is needed. Either that or I need more conversations with Wiggy to understand it all.