civvver
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What do you guys think about the Colin Kaepernick saga?
In case you have been living under a rock, Kaepernick was an nfl quarterback who last season would sit during national anthems at games as a protest against police brutality towards minorities. Well actually his quote was more general, that he was protesting against oppression in general but it came on the heels over police shootings and he cited those as examples. From wikipedia:
After his protest he went on to start 11 games for the 49ers, I don't follow that closely but I think he was hurt to start the season and then started after that. His stats were decent. But the 49ers didn't resign him, instead they now have Brian Hoyer who objectively is worse. No one in the league has signed Kaepernick, leading to speculation that he is being black balled by the league for his protest.
When anonymous league execs have been asked they always said they don't want Kaepernick because he would be a distraction on their team due to the amount of coverage his protests have been getting. At first I kind of agreed, and Kaepernick isn't that good anymore, but now it's getting ridiculous. Teams like jacksonville lost a qb and signed Chad Henne as a replacement. I mean, what? He's horrible. Jay Cutler came out of retirement for like 10 million. Execuse me? You mean Kaepernick wouldn't be worth at least 75% of cutler at a third that price right now?
The whole thing is getting really weird and it's incredibly divisive. I personally don't care one bit that Kaepernick sat during the anthem. I'm not a rah rah usa kind of guy. I appreciate our national symbols, but that's all they are, symbols. People are of the opinion that him sitting during the anthem is a huge slap in the face to all of our veterans. I'm not a vet, nor do I know many, but I just don't feel that way. Many of these people strike me as the same ones who would oppose obama, be accused by the other side of slapping black people in the face by their opposition, and then would say that's not true at all. If you can oppose obama and say he's not a symbol of minorities, I don't get how you can argue the anthem is a symbol of the military and veterans. I'm probably comparing apples and oranges and shouldn't have mad this argument. The point is I don't understand why these people get so upset. But they do, I personally know multiple people who think Kaepernick is a diva and because he's a rich athlete he has no right to complain about inequality in america and he is being disrespectful. Which I think is baloney.
And then comes the issue of legality with what the nfl is doing. It's all hush hush but let's say the nfl actually came out and said he's banned from the league for actions detrimental to the league. I don't think employers can censor you outside of work, but they certainly can argue that your actions hurt their business and can place limits on what you do during games. Some would argue that since it was during the anthem pre game it wasn't during the game. Either way I do see where the nfl and teams are coming from, that a lot of people would stop watching your team's games if you hired him, just out of spite or whatever. So yes, he has hurt the nfl's business in some ways.
Still, I'm sure if those teams started winning those fans would come back. I guarantee you if Kaepernick came in and lead a team to multiple wins and a playoff spot those fans would get over themselves. I think it's hypocrisy really, it's easy to hate on him cus it doesn't affect you personally.
Another huge example of the hypocrisy is these same fans openly root for guys who have arrest records for domestic violence and drugs. Ezekiel Elliot is being suspended right now for police incidents involving domestic disputes with his girlfriend and I'm sure cowboys fans want him back and would cheer for him openly without a second thought. Maybe not all, but a huge majority, and those same fans want Kaepernick black balled from the league.
Side note: how do you make your quote show up not as a spoiler or quote, but the little quote box you have to click in to expand?
In case you have been living under a rock, Kaepernick was an nfl quarterback who last season would sit during national anthems at games as a protest against police brutality towards minorities. Well actually his quote was more general, that he was protesting against oppression in general but it came on the heels over police shootings and he cited those as examples. From wikipedia:
Before a preseason game in 2016, Kaepernick sat down, as opposed to the tradition of standing, during the playing of "The Star-Spangled Banner". During a post-game interview, he explained his position stating, "I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color. To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder", referencing a series of events that led to the Black Lives Matter movement and adding that he would continue to protest until he feels like "[the American flag] represents what it's supposed to represent".[52][52][53][54] In the 49ers' final 2016 preseason game on September 1, 2016, Kaepernick opted to kneel during the U.S. national anthem rather than sit as he did in their previous games. He explained his decision to switch was an attempt to show more respect to former and current U.S. military members while still protesting during the anthem after having a conversation with former NFL player and U.S. military veteran Nate Boyer.[55] After the September 2016 police shootings of Terence Crutcher and Keith Lamont Scott,[56] Kaepernick commented publicly on the shootings saying, "this is a perfect example of what this is about."[57]
After his protest he went on to start 11 games for the 49ers, I don't follow that closely but I think he was hurt to start the season and then started after that. His stats were decent. But the 49ers didn't resign him, instead they now have Brian Hoyer who objectively is worse. No one in the league has signed Kaepernick, leading to speculation that he is being black balled by the league for his protest.
When anonymous league execs have been asked they always said they don't want Kaepernick because he would be a distraction on their team due to the amount of coverage his protests have been getting. At first I kind of agreed, and Kaepernick isn't that good anymore, but now it's getting ridiculous. Teams like jacksonville lost a qb and signed Chad Henne as a replacement. I mean, what? He's horrible. Jay Cutler came out of retirement for like 10 million. Execuse me? You mean Kaepernick wouldn't be worth at least 75% of cutler at a third that price right now?
The whole thing is getting really weird and it's incredibly divisive. I personally don't care one bit that Kaepernick sat during the anthem. I'm not a rah rah usa kind of guy. I appreciate our national symbols, but that's all they are, symbols. People are of the opinion that him sitting during the anthem is a huge slap in the face to all of our veterans. I'm not a vet, nor do I know many, but I just don't feel that way. Many of these people strike me as the same ones who would oppose obama, be accused by the other side of slapping black people in the face by their opposition, and then would say that's not true at all. If you can oppose obama and say he's not a symbol of minorities, I don't get how you can argue the anthem is a symbol of the military and veterans. I'm probably comparing apples and oranges and shouldn't have mad this argument. The point is I don't understand why these people get so upset. But they do, I personally know multiple people who think Kaepernick is a diva and because he's a rich athlete he has no right to complain about inequality in america and he is being disrespectful. Which I think is baloney.
And then comes the issue of legality with what the nfl is doing. It's all hush hush but let's say the nfl actually came out and said he's banned from the league for actions detrimental to the league. I don't think employers can censor you outside of work, but they certainly can argue that your actions hurt their business and can place limits on what you do during games. Some would argue that since it was during the anthem pre game it wasn't during the game. Either way I do see where the nfl and teams are coming from, that a lot of people would stop watching your team's games if you hired him, just out of spite or whatever. So yes, he has hurt the nfl's business in some ways.
Still, I'm sure if those teams started winning those fans would come back. I guarantee you if Kaepernick came in and lead a team to multiple wins and a playoff spot those fans would get over themselves. I think it's hypocrisy really, it's easy to hate on him cus it doesn't affect you personally.
Another huge example of the hypocrisy is these same fans openly root for guys who have arrest records for domestic violence and drugs. Ezekiel Elliot is being suspended right now for police incidents involving domestic disputes with his girlfriend and I'm sure cowboys fans want him back and would cheer for him openly without a second thought. Maybe not all, but a huge majority, and those same fans want Kaepernick black balled from the league.
Side note: how do you make your quote show up not as a spoiler or quote, but the little quote box you have to click in to expand?