By Luka Secilmis, Year 11
The San Francisco 49ers have had a pretty rough start to their season. Only having won one out of nine games, the 49ers have hit rock bottom of professional football. However, it hasn’t been their dismal performance, but their second-string quarterback Colin Kaepernick who has gotten most of the attention over the past months.
Since the start of this N.F.L. season Kaepernick has caused much stir around the media and the United States. He has been kneeling during the national anthem, in protest of recent events like police brutality, that have displayed injustice and wrongdoings towards African-Americans. In this period of civil unrest, many athletes have spoken out. N.B.A. star Lebron James, along with other basketball stars, have addressed these issues during the E.S.P.Y awards. They argued for united communities and an end to violence.
This isn’t the first time athletes have expressed their empathy and concerns about current events. On July 17th 2014, for instance, Eric Garner died in a chokehold by a police officer, while being arrested, repeatedly gasping for air, exclaiming that he “can’t breathe”. Athletes wore “I can’t breathe” shirts – notably the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Brooklyn Nets -during warmups, in December that year.
Kaepernick has been addressed and criticized by the media and the nation as unpatriotic and disrespectful. Many find that his actions are insulting to his own country. He responded: “I’m not anti-American. I love America. I love people. That’s why I’m doing this. I want to help make America better. I think having these conversations helps everybody have a better understanding of where everybody is coming from.”
Colin Kaepernick has faced much criticism: he has been booed and has sparked debates on whether players have to stand during the “Star Spangled Banner”. His protest, however, has successfully spread across the United States, as College players, and even High School players all over the country have started to kneel in solidarity.
“This is not something that I am going to run by anybody,” Kaepernick said in an interview, “I am not looking for approval. I have to stand up for people that are oppressed. … If they take football away, my endorsements from me, I know that I stood up for what is right.”
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