Colin Kaepernick remains unsigned – he is being Black balled!
By Byler E. Henry
Colin Kaepernick remains unsigned although he can currently help out many teams who need it at the quarterback position. The Bills, Jets, Texans, Bears, and Browns are in need of some quarterback help, and they have not taken meetings with him. Last season, Colin decided to kneel instead of stand during the anthem because he wanted to protest against the killing of unarmed Black men by police officers.
Why is someone who is willing to protest for a worthy cause looked at as the villain? Many have condemned him for disrespecting the flag, although he has stated that he was not protesting against the military. It seems as if many of the owners have decided to not meet or sign Kaepernick to make an example out of him, “When you step out of line this is what happens to you. Nobody else get any ideas or you’re next. Stand up for the anthem, shut your mouth and play boy.”
Their actions are dictating a slave master’s mentality. If Colin had not protested, he would have been signed a long time ago by a new team, or the 49ers would have brought him back. Here is his NFL body of work: he took over as the 49ers quarterback when Alex Smith suffered a concussion. In 2013, he led the 49ers to the Super Bowl going 243 of 416 passing for 3,197 yards with 21 touchdowns and 8 interceptions.
Many of the quarterbacks who have been signed have not even made the playoffs including Matt Barkley, Brian Hoyer, Mark Sanchez,and Mike Glennon, all of whom have received a contract while Kaepernick, who has proven he can be a starting quarterback, still has not been signed. There are not many athletes today who are willing to speak out because of fear of retribution. Colin has shown an act of courage to stand up for what he believes in, especially having no fear of risking being hated by some.
Many prominent people have been hated for standing up for their beliefs. Muhammad Ali was an athlete who refused to go to the Vietnam War be-cause he refused to fight for a country who oppressed him. As a result he was stripped of his world heavyweight title, denied a boxing license from March of 1967 to October 1970. Kaepernick is risking endorsements and losing money by standing up for what he believes in and I commend him for it. Since he is standing up for our community, we need to show him our support. Since America is a capitalistic society, we should hit the owners where it hurts to get our point across, which is in their pockets.
We should boycott the NFL by not buying their merchandise, not watching their games on TV, and not buying tickets to their games. Also, don’t buy the Madden NFL 18 video game until Colin is signed. Even though football is beloved by many, the issue Colin is bringing awareness to is more important than the games on Sunday. To fill the void of football, we also have the NBA and the MLB to look forward to. Since Colin has decided to stand up for us, let’s do the same for him.
