A pretty good think piece from Kenneth Arthur at Rolling Stone:
As Eric Reid, a safety for the 49ers, recently wrote to explain why he decided to join Kaepernick: "We chose to kneel because it’s a respectful gesture. I remember thinking our posture was like a flag flown at half-mast to mark a tragedy."
- snip -
...the debates have often been heated, but for the most part the people involved have remained more interested in football than politics. The conversation around Kaepernick continues, but the talk was focused recently on his employment status, not the status of whether he's standing, sitting or kneeling. We know now that getting rid of Kaepernick does not mean getting rid of the message.
"I'm not racist, but…" has now been transformed into: "I don't have a problem with their message, but…"
That's a huge part of the problem: That you'd be so disconnected from racial inequality and the state of it in America in the form of police brutality that you'd not even understand where a black person was coming from. Each player may have their own specific reasons for the protest, but Kaepernick did not mince words last August when asked why he sat during the anthem. "I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color," Kaepernick told NFL Media in an exclusive interview after the game. "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."
As Eric Reid, a safety for the 49ers, recently wrote to explain why he decided to join Kaepernick: "We chose to kneel because it’s a respectful gesture. I remember thinking our posture was like a flag flown at half-mast to mark a tragedy."
- snip -
...the debates have often been heated, but for the most part the people involved have remained more interested in football than politics. The conversation around Kaepernick continues, but the talk was focused recently on his employment status, not the status of whether he's standing, sitting or kneeling. We know now that getting rid of Kaepernick does not mean getting rid of the message.
- snip -
"I'm not racist, but…" has now been transformed into: "I don't have a problem with their message, but…"
That's a huge part of the problem: That you'd be so disconnected from racial inequality and the state of it in America in the form of police brutality that you'd not even understand where a black person was coming from. Each player may have their own specific reasons for the protest, but Kaepernick did not mince words last August when asked why he sat during the anthem. "I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color," Kaepernick told NFL Media in an exclusive interview after the game. "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."
This one is sticky and weird and strewn with landmines.
I have to stay on the side of "The First Amendment guarantees protection against retribution from your government, not your employer", but any employer understanding anything knows not to fuck with people's rights too blatantly without being sure he can do it more or less out of sight of the public. Which is definitely not what we're talking about with the NFL.
I think what we tend to neglect - what we need to focus on - is making the distinction between Expression and Action. So here's the wrinkle - if I'm honestly trying to point up a true injustice, I think you owe me the benefit of the doubt. If I start inciting violence (eg), then my "speech" has become an "action", and a whole different set of rules have to apply.
So, a team (or the league) can impose sanctions on an employee, but when POTUS calls for action against that employee, then we've got a real case for protection under the First Amendment.
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