All NFL teams are owned by White folks. Ownership = 100% White. At the same time, 70% of the players who play football in the NFL are Black. Seems relevant.
Playing football is a brutal thing. Not for the faint-hearted. Every play is a car-crash. Every player risks serious, life-changing injury on every play.
I still watch the NFL. Being a Chicago Bears fan seems like it's embedded in my DNA. Handed down from Grandfather to Father to Me. I am not a Rabid Fan. More like a Zen rather than Rabid Fan. I keep up on what's going on with the Bears, but I don't live or die on game day. I don't always watch the game.
I do think Colin Kaepernick is getting a raw deal. A talented young Quarterback who seems to be shunned by the League because he "took a knee" when they played the Star-Spangled Banner before NFL games.
Young Colin was protesting racism in the USA. Taking a stand in the days of Black Lives Matter. Seems like a fine thing to do. I have no problem with it. And taking a knee seemed like an elegant way to protest. A quiet protest. Powerful, symbolic, elegant.
So now he is out of a job. I don't think it's right. Reflects badly on the NFL. Reflects badly on NFL fans. I stand with Colin taking a knee. I do not stand in my living room when they play the Star Spangled Banner before a game. I sit. Or head to the kitchen for a snack. Or sometimes I just turn the sound down and watch the colors on my TV screen. Should I be shunned too? Shun away!
