Colin Kaepernick Named Face of Nike's 30th Anniversary

Funny how Tim Tebow was MOCKED for kneeling while he played.

PERFECT...I completely agree with all of this.

Nike has the right to support anyone they choose and I have that same right.
Our local DVS will be getting a donation of all of our Nike gear.

The one thing that has consistently made America great (without Trump's help) is that we have first amendment rights. Everyone has them. If you want to say something that is unpopular, you can. You may face negative consequences from it - boycotts, shunning, ridicule, loss of a job - but you won't face those consequences from the government.

This is an issue that Kaepernick deeply cares about. He saw that it wasn't getting enough attention and felt that he could use his position to gain attention for it. He felt that he could get the dialog going, and he has the right to protest if that is his choice. He has done so at great personal sacrifice. While he may not be the best quarterback, is he really not in the top 92 or so? He's that bad that he wouldn't have at least earned a tryout? So he's actually put his money where his mouth is - taking a stand on something he believes in, even at cost to himself. As far as being disrespectful, this is the only situation I've ever heard of where someone has argued that kneeling is disrespectful. Kneeling has been seen as deferential and reverential throughout history - a way to show humility and loyalty and honor. But in this particular case it's disresepctful? It's more respectful to the anthem than using the restroom during that time. It's more respectful than buying a hot dog and beer at the concession stand. It's more respectful than checking your phone or taking a photo. It's more respectful than talking to your friends. It's more respectful than yelling random words of the anthem because they have some link to your team. It's more resepctful than walking hurriedly to find your seats because you arrived late to the game. And yet these are things that I see at every single game I attend as a season ticket holder to a major league sports team.

We don't need protection to say things that are popular and well-liked. Those things will always find an audience. Sometimes things that are unpopular are the things that need to be said. You may not like the way that he chose to go about his protest, but is there anything that would make the "all lives matter/blue lives matter" happy about his protest? Maybe if he just wrote a couple of strongly worded letters to the editor of the local paper or made some comments on Youtube, or just changed his FB profile picture that would be acceptable to them. But I doubt it.

Police brutality and abuse of power is a problem in America. Certain groups are more likely to be victims of it. Not every cop is out to get people, but it has happened often enough that to deny that it is an issue is not going to help solve the problem. How many of us spend time teaching our sons how to behave around police officers? If we're white, it probably doesn't go any further than telling them that the police are our friends and that you should be respectful to them and do as they ask. If you're not white, the lessons probably go a little further than that. This isn't right. Black parents shouldn't have to teach their children that there are separate rules for them because the chances are greater of them being mistreated or worse. We're supposed to be a nation of laws, not two separate systems depending upon your skin color.

This is the hill that Kaepernick has chosen to die on, and it looks like Nike supports his cause. Some will boycott, but others will show their support. Which is what is great - we have the freedom to follow our consciences as we see fit.

So- it bothers you that someone kneels for the pledge but you don't care if someone dodged the draft multiple (5) times. Can you explain why the first is disrespectful to our country but he second is not?

I will be glad when his 15 minutes of self glory fame is up.

Me, too.  Hope Mueller makes it happen sooner rather than later.

That just isn’t true, busy. I feel strongly about the issues of racial injustice and police brutality that Kaepernick wanted to highlight. I know firsthand the terror, not just anxiety, one feels when stopped by a cop. I see the injustice with my own eyes. I’ve been seeing and experiencing them for a very long time. Issues like these will always be uncomfortable, regardless of how someone gets the message, and it’s a noble cause to raise awareness of them and fight for eradication of the shameful and unjust practices. But what has happened? The daily narratives are about whether K was right or wrong, whether the NFL is right or wrong, whether Trump is right or wrong. The focus is no longer on the real issues that matter – issues that demand unity, a thorough understanding, and a heck of a lot of discomfort. Protests are effective when they inspire a collective action for reforms, not when they inspire even more divisiveness.

I think Busy is right. I don't imagine, for one second, that the people saying K is wrong, that Trump is right, that the NFL is right or wrong depending on the day and its position would ever support his right to protest against police brutality and black oppression. They are the people who say shut up and play. They are the people who say rich athletes don't have anything to complain about. They are the people who say K is unAmerican, call him Muslim as a slur and somehow equate expressing distress about police brutality and oppression as an insult to veterans. They wrap themselves up in the flag as though it is some testament to their greater sense of patriotism when it's just a cheap, shallow facsimile.

They are the people who threaten to run over or shoot with water cannons people protesting against the murder by police officer of an unarmed black teen. They are the ones who called the Pittsburgh Steelers players "baboons" when in a failed attempt to avoid this controversy altogether, the team chose to stay in the tunnel during the national anthem. They are the ones who come up with pathetic, nonsensical justifications for why it's okay every single time a black person is killed by a police officer, regardless of the circumstances of the case. ("He smoked pot once." "He might have shoplifted $5 worth of cigars." "He liked to Purple Drank." "She took a selfie once with a phone case that looked like a handgun." "He was making too much noise in the back of the police van." "He shouldn't have been playing with that airsoft gun in the park." We could do this for the rest of the day and not run out of stupid, racist justifications.) I simply no longer believe there is any acceptable method of protest for people like this and I firmly believe it's because they disagree with the message.

No, of course not. I'm sure they're all doing this.

Of course he's entitled to think whatever he wants. We all are. And OF COURSE in my quote, I'm speaking in generalizations and there are exceptions to everything. 

Of course I know. There will always be resistance to reform. But the unifying message of the Civil Rights protests never got lost amidst all the horrifying events. The message prevailed. That is precisely my point. In this present situation, the message has been lost. It’s been consumed by the personalities and their actions. Look, I’m not trying to persuade anyone to change their minds; I’m merely presenting my own point of view. It’s just my hope that instead of the focus being on K/NFL/Trump that it, instead, be refocused on the true issues.

Exactly, your right to protest doesn't mean a right to interfere with me going about my daily business. 

And your right to protest doesn't mean I don't have a right to oppose you or to criticize you or to take whatever steps available to stop you.

You seem to imply that your right to protest trumps everything else and the rights of everyone else be damned.

Colin Kapernick staged his own form of protest.  Then he had to deal with the repercussions, good or bad, of that protest.

I disagree there too. I've seen it bring up A LOT of conversations that probably never would have been had without it. I think Kap's stance has brought a lot of visibility and beneficial discussion to the subject to people who aren't at either end of the spectrum. It's spread far beyond him now, and I see small bits of incremental change happening, and thinking evolving.