Why Colin Kaepernick didn’t win in his crusade despite the fact many others lost
Man, do I feel stupid.
What a waste of time.
The only saving grace is I can say I’m not one of the many who underwent extreme self-inflicted suffering through this Colin Kaepernick ordeal. Luckily for me, I believed in something but it didn’t mean sacrificing everything.
Yet now we sit here with a settlement — yes, an agreement to stop the war — in which nobody won while many lost.
For instance, the NFL essentially wasted a season in 2017 as ratings dipped because Kaepernick’s kneeling caused a major protest for much of the year. Luckily for the league — not that the cash cow suffered that much in the grand scheme of things — ratings bounced back in 2018 as the kneeling saga seemed to have mostly disappeared.
Then there’s President Donald J. Trump, who surely angered many of his naysayers — and perhaps even some of his supporters — further by getting involved in a situation in which he wasn’t needed. In fact, he hurt the league and most likely himself aside from those who proudly wear MAGA hats.
But others, sadly, on a more everyday-life level made missteps because of this ordeal. A Colorado sports store, Prime Time Sports, that joined others boycotting Nike because of the “Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything” Kaepernick ad announced a few days ago that it would be closing several months after selling off its Nike merchandise.
“Being a sports store without Nike is like being a gas station without gas,” store owner Stephen Martin told CNN.
Looking back, it’s funny — but not in a good way — how this all played out.
I originally backed Kaepernick for drawing attention to racially charged police brutality and social injustice, and the fact he was indeed sacrificing his career for it was noble. I didn’t see it as an attack on the flag as many other have. I saw it as him taking a stand at a time that would draw the most attention, and boy did it.
Yet, he gave up. He gave in.
Was it all about money? He sacrificed NFL money yet gained Nike money he probably wouldn’t have had otherwise and then reported got as much as $60-$80 million settling the collusion case against the league.
I know I’m not the first to draw this comparison but would Martin Luther King Jr. have compromised? I don’t think so.
Therefore, a lot of the respect I had for Kaepernick — despite the pig socks and Fidel Castro T-shirt — has waned. Like much of what happened with the kneeling movement, I don’t really know what he stands for anymore.
First there was talk that maybe he had agreed to stay away from the NFL and not attempt to get back into the league. Then his lawyer came out and indicated the opposite, saying the Carolina Panthers and New England Patriots would likely be interested in his services. Wait, what?
Now, I think it’s unfair for those who think he should play in the Alliance of American Football; that’s truly beneath him. However, the thought of all of this having happened and him returning to the NFL after all is ludicrous.
Say he does get signed going into next season. Then what in the heck did we go through all this for?
Well, Eric Reid, Kaepernick’s side kneeler, is back in the league and just signed an extension with, yes, the Panthers. And teams are again welcoming back men who beat women (think Cleveland Browns and Kareem Hunt).
So to conclude: Kaepernick made some money, but he didn’t “win” in terms of the civil rights battle. Instead, he threw in the towel. That being said, I wouldn’t be surprised if some of that money goes toward initiatives he believes in and that’s great. But don’t tell me he believed in something to sacrifice everything, because at this point.
The NFL — though it is too powerful to truly “lose” — took a blow.
The president of the United States — who doesn’t need anymore negative press — lost in this situation. Let’s just hope he doesn’t pop back up and chime in — and that’s not being political — because it won’t help him or anyone else.
And then there’s the little guy, like Martin in Colorado and I’m sure there’s others, who believed in something and appears to be sacrificing everything. Like I said, I feel stupid. He looks stupid.
Every time I mention Kaepernick I get all kinds of hate mail, though a few of you have been able to respectfully disagree and create further conversation. I’ve learned from some of you that I’m the biggest Democrat and left-winger in the world through this, which I can tell you just plain isn’t true.
I don’t form opinions on bulk items. I write about specific issues while trying to be fair and unbiased politically. But in today’s world everything is so politicized I understand that is impossible.
Sadly, I feel like we all had the wool pulled over our eyes. Both sides of this issue got heated and some of us lost time, money and perhaps even friends.
Put simply, no one won.
